B.C.’s Site C dam was clearly past point of no return

Horgan, Greens lacked clout to stop project, says Mike Smyth.

Somewhere, Christy Clark must be laughing her head off right about now.

The former B.C. Liberal premier suffered a dizzying fall from power after the election last May, but the most solemn vow she made in office came prophetically true on Monday.

Premier John Horgan announced the new NDP government will complete construction of the Site C dam, the $10.7-billion behemoth on the Peace River started by Clark’s Liberals three years ago.

Never mind that Horgan and the NDP said the dam was too expensive, too harmful to the environment and agricultural land, trampled on the rights of First Nations and that we didn’t need the power anyway.

It was Clark who solemnly vowed — at the memorial service for the late former premier Bill Bennett — to push the Site C dam “past the point of no return.”

And that’s exactly what she did. Horgan was forced to admit Clark had cooked an omelette he simply couldn’t unscramble.

“It must be completed,” Horgan said at a gloomy news conference in the legislative library.

B.C. Hydro has already spent $2 billion on construction and said it would cost another $2 billion to cancel the project and return the sprawling work site back to its natural condition.

That would have been $4 billion for nothing, something Horgan said would have triggered a 12-per-cent jump in Hydro rates and forced a possible credit downgrade on the province’s debt.

A rate hike like that would cost the average household another $200 a year on their electricity bills.

But, even worse according to Horgan, it would have plunged the government into a black hole of deepening debt and rising interest rates.

That would have blocked the government from building new schools and hospitals and from delivering on his much-hyped $10-a-day child care promise, Horgan said.

“Although Site C is not the project we would have favoured or started, it must be completed to meet the objectives our government has set.”

The announcement set off an expected wave of bitter condemnation from opponents of the dam, and happy celebration from its supporters.

“Affirming the construction of Site C is the right decision for the future of our province,” said Iain Black, president of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.

“With so much at stake for our province, better late than never for John Horgan,” said Chris Gardner, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association.

But local landowners, environmental groups and key First Nations were furious.

The David Suzuki Foundation said Horgan should have cancelled the dam and built wind turbines instead. Two First Nations — West Moberly and Prophet River — said they will sue the government and seek a court injunction to stop construction.

The opposition Liberals played I-told-you-so. “It’s unfortunate we had to wait six months for an obvious decision,” said Liberal critic Tracy Redies, who warned any budget overruns on the project would be the NDP’s fault.

Is there any doubt more red ink will be spilled? The price tag has already soared from $8.3 billion to $10.7 billion and it won’t even be completed for another seven years.

Then there was Green party Leader Andrew Weaver, who expressed outrage at the decision, but said he won’t pull his support for the minority NDP government.

“Does this mean we’re going to topple the government? No,” Weaver said.

“We’re not elected to pretend we’re playing baseball and I have the bat and ball and I am going to pick it up and go home.”

Most magnanimous. But there are few people who look more foolish in this entire affair than Weaver.

Weaver could have demanded Horgan kill Site C as his price for supporting the NDP in their power-sharing agreement.

I asked him why he didn’t and his answer was amazing.

“What would our trump card be if they said No?” he asked.

The “trump card” would have been refusing to prop up the NDP government, of course.

If Weaver had done that, Horgan would have folded like a cheap lawn chair.

Instead, B.C. will get the dam Christy Clark pushed past the point of no return.

They will all blame each other when it goes even more drastically over budget.