The BC First Nations’ adamant stand against dam building by BC Hydro can be infuriating for some at first. As some of my classmates have said, it seems unfair that First Nations are abusing their privileges won at court by seizing territory beyond their lands, even while they complain about unfair treatment and the tyranny of corporations in destroying their lands.
However, the obstinance of the First Nations is altogether admirable and justifiable. In fact, it is harsh to condemn them when Canadian industrial expansion has already inflicted much pain upon the Aboriginals – “the Cheslatta flooded from their lands; the Haisla, trying to save the Kitlope from logging; the Ingenika and Fort Ware people, flooded from their lands; the Nuu-chah-nulth, fighting for their place in the battle over Clayoquot Sound, and many more.” With this media coverage exposing the suffering of First Nations at the hands of Canadian business, it becomes more and more apparent that industrial pushes are transforming into something akin to genocide.
Senior members of the First Nations authorities responsible for fighting Canadian industrial expansion into BC native lands. Photo by David P. Ball.
While BC Hydro can insist that Site C’s dam is important to the BC economy, media coverage illustrating the losses of First Nations people will cast the project in a very negative light, souring the dam’s value proposition. Worried about accusations from abroad that it doesn’t protect human rights, the Canadian government will then likely step in, regulating BC Hydro to the point where the massive project investment is no longer profitable.
With the government and media ravaging the company’s cost structure and value proposition, one must consider whether the “gold” BC Hydro is seeking in Site C is worth the genocide. While business logic can clam that energy capacity will be needed for the future, that logic will just have to wait.