OTTAWA—The Royal Society of Canada is joining some 250 academics in calling on the Liberal government to stop development on British Columbia’s Site C hydroelectric project.
The massive dam on the Peace River is considered a signature project for B.C. Premier Christy Clark and construction has already begun after an expedited federal-provincial environmental review.
However, scientists argue that its environment impacts—coupled with the lack of First Nations consultation and approval—make the dam a “bellwether” of the Trudeau government’s commitment to develop resources in a more science-based, sustainable, and socially responsible way.
Gordon Christie, a law professor at the University of British Columbia, says the outstanding treaty claims alone on the region to be flooded by Site C mean the project must be paused.
And Karen Bakker, Canada research chair in water governance at UBC, says this single hydroelectric dam accounts for more than 40 percent of all the environment effects ever cited during environmental assessments dating back to 1990—all for a project she says is of questionable utility.
