The Site C Dam project must be stopped for the First Nations communities of the Peace Valley.
Problems caused by the dam will severely hurt the First Nations communities who have always depended on their land and water sources of their traditional land for their economic, social, and cultural wellbeing.
The Site C dam will flood over 100 square kilometers of “rich valley-bottom lands, including farmland, wildlife habitat, First Nations cultural sites, and heritage sites” and furthermore cause in a devastating destruction of 6,000 hectares of Peace Valley farmland. Moreover, the richest agricultural land in Northern British Columbia as well as First Nation burial and hunting grounds will be demolished. All of this sacrifice is to produce electrical power “which no viable market has been identified.”
What is more infuriating is that this dam will cost Canadian tax payers over $8 billion dollars. As a resident of British Columbia I cannot tolerate $8 billion dollars collected from the citizens of Canada only to flood the valley, destroy homes, and displace the First Nations families who have lived there for generations after generations. The government had promised the land to the First Nations, and now they are trying to take them back, manipulating the land in order to earn profit.
At this point, we always have to keep in mind that the land does not belong to the government; it has been the First Nations’ since the beginning. The government should keep its promises and take the $8 billion dollars to find and generate alternative energy that is more cost-effective, for all of us all. Now.
Take action through http://www.StopSiteC.ca.
http://www.nelsonstar.com/opinion/letters/274529801.html
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/First+Nation+chiefs+stage+Site+showdown/10215965/story.html
Photos: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/09/26/flooding-the-landscape/