The Treaty 8 First Nations and BC Hydro's Site C Dam

Abstract

The Site C Clean Energy Project is a proposed dam and hydroelectric generating station on the Peace River in northeast British Columbia, seven kilometers southwest of the city of Fort St. John. The proposed site―within the Peace River Valley―is home to BC’s Treaty 8 First Nations with an approximate Aboriginal population of 2500-3000 people (T8TA, "Treaty 8 Communities"). The project's proponent, BC Hydro, received environmental approval for Site C from the federal and provincial governments on October 14, 2014 (BCEAO Conditional Environmental Assessment Certificate Granted: Site C Clean Energy Project; CEAA "Government of Canada's Decision on the Environmental Assessment of the Site C Clean Energy Project"); however, the project still requires an investment decision from the Province and regulatory permits and authorization before it can proceed to construction (BC Hydro, "Multi-Stage Evaluation"). The Treaty 8 First Nations are opposing Site C, having filed a lawsuit on grounds that the project would have a devastating impact on their traditional land and thus violate their treaty rights (Keller)...


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