WITH TSUUT’INA REJECTION, FLOOD DAM HITS BIG SNAG
As Calgary moves into its fourth spring since the great flood of 2013, there’s suddenly a shocking question.
Without the consent of the Tsuut’ina, can the dry dam at Springbank be built at all?
The First Nation threw a jolt into the NDP Wednesday with a clear — and brand-new — declaration that it does not support the project.
“We’re opposed, totally opposed,” said spokesman Kevin Littlelight.
Chief Lee Crowchild insisted the dam will not go ahead until the NDP “has fulfilled its legal and moral obligation to seek Tsuut’ina’s consent for this massive and permanent project.”
He also said Tsuut’ina has not been consulted, a claim disputed by Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason, who says many meetings have been held.
Crowchild, who was elected last October, leaves a bit of wiggle room for more study. But the core message is that the band wants the government to return to the McLean Creek project further upstream.
I asked Mason if the government could build the Springbank dry dam without formal consent from the nation.
“We have to work together to the point where they feel they can support the project.” he said. “We want to accomplish that. That’s very important.” And then: “Whether or not we would proceed without their absolute consensus is something I don’t feel I can answer. I just don’t know the answer to that today. We would certainly like to get their agreement.”
Calgarians know very well how such projects can stall out, especially when they involve the province, Ottawa and the Tsuut’ina. Approval for the ring road through nation land took, oh, half a century.
This is tricky for the New Democrats, who believe they have done more to respect indigenous people’s rights than any previous Alberta government.
Some on the nation don’t see it that way. Littlelight says that he and others liked the NDP because Premier Rachel Notley campaigned against the Springbank dam in 2015.
After the election, the government reviewed both projects and switched back to Springbank.
“We were in favour of the NDP at the time,” says Littlelight. “A number of people were. I know I was.”
“And then they flip-flopped, and they’re still proceeding (with Springbank.) That’s the heart of the thing — you trust people, and all of a sudden they implement like the past regime. That doesn’t sit well with aboriginal people.”
The Tsuut’ina and the government also have a sharp difference over the impact of the dam.
“Our homework is done,” said Littlelight. “The dam has gotten a lot bigger. There’s no doubt it will have an effect on water through the Tsuut’ina Nation.
“We will really strongly feel its negative effect. We have about 3,000 people who would be directly affected.”
Crowchild says the nation has learned from a third party — not the government — that a diversion gate would be located less than half a kilometre from its land. “Water backing up during a flood diversion would directly impact Tsuut’ina, especially in the Redwood Meadows community,” he adds. Mason says: “We had a consultation meeting with them in the Springbank area a month or six weeks ago, department officials attended, and it was pretty clear that the Tsuut’ina had formed an alliance with the Don’t Dam Springbank landowners there.”
The minister also disputes the claim that the dam would damage Tsuut’ina water or land.
“We don’t believe it will. It’s not on their land. To the best of our understanding, the project will not, even in a flood situation, affect their land.
“If there’s impact on their land, then that’s a matter of serious concern. But I don’t think it’s been demonstrated that this is the case at all. In fact, we expect it’s not the case.”
An environmental study due by the end of March should give a clear answer, he said.
“I think we can’t lose sight of the bigger picture, which is that we need to take steps to make sure that kind of flood doesn’t devastate Calgary and its economy as it did.”
As for the Tsuut’ina claims, he said, “If in the end we’re proven wrong, and the court or someone shows we’ve missed the boat, we’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.
“But I don’t think people would forgive us if we didn’t see this through, and then we had the same flood, or worse.”
He’s got that part right.