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Experts shed light on approval of Site C project

Public accountability summit to be held in Victoria
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Is the decision to proceed with the Site C dam “devastatingly stupid”, as Elizabeth May says, in her year-end press conference? Let’s consider what experts are saying:

The land slated to be flooded could feed even a million people, according to award-winning agrologist Wendy Holm. She envisages using the facilities already built to house a centre of excellence in organic and sustainable production.

Amnesty International’s report shows that a government “environmental impact assessment concluded that the dam would ‘severely undermine’ use of the land, would make fishing unsafe, and would submerge burial grounds and other crucial cultural and historic sites.”

Most damning, when B.C. cabinet ministers suggest cancellation of the site C project would “incur an immediate $3-4 billion public charge on either Hydro ratepayers or B.C. taxpayers,” Robert McCullough has shown that this isn’t actually the case. Former president and CEO of BC Hydro, Marc Eliesen, states, “If (John) Horgan were really concerned about the financial impact of Site C on taxpayers and ratepayers, he would have cancelled the project.”

The Peace Valley Solidarity Initiative has invited Premier Horgan and other cabinet ministers to a public Site C accountability summit to be held in Victoria on Jan. 26 and 27 - what a good way to start a new year, to contribute to a “great turning” in how we interact with each other and the natural world.

Jan Slakov

Salt Spring Island