B.C. Hydro files claim against dam protesters
SITE C: Power utility asks court for an injunction to prevent group from standing in way of construction
A months-long dispute is heating up between B.C. Hydro and a small group of First Nations and landowners who are protesting the construction of the $9-billion Site C dam.
The power utility has filed a notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court seeking an injunction that will prevent protesters from stopping work in and around the south bank of the Peace River near Fort St. John.
The notice was filed Tuesday, a day after the protesters issued a threepoint plan calling for the temporary suspension of land-clearing operations, construction work and federal approvals.
The protesters also want further reviews of the project by the B.C. Utilities Commission and Treaty 8 rights constitutionally protected by the federal government.
Named in the notice are Ken and Arlene Boon of the Peace Valley Landowner Association; Verena Hofmann, a former staff member of the Treaty 8 Tribal Association; Esther Pedersen of Fort St. John; Helen Knott of the Prophet River First Nation; and Yvonne Tupper, whose address and profession weren’t listed.
B.C. Hydro spokesman David Conway said Wednesday the power utility didn’t file the action in response to the protesters’ three-point plan.
“B.C. Hydro has filed a civil claim in relationship to a small number of individuals who are preventing contractors from undertaking some clearing work on the south bank of the Site C Dam site,” Conway said.
He said Hydro is obligated to keep the project on schedule and on budget, and hopes the situation can be resolved.
“It seems like a show of intimidation,” said Knott, adding she was shocked that the notice was filed after Hydro indicated it wanted dialogue.
“We’re still going to maintain our peaceful presence down at the camp, you know,” she said. “It is Treaty 8 land, and as a treaty member I do have a right to be there and to continue to be there.”
None of the allegations has been tested in court, but the notice said the protesters occupied a camp at the Rocky Mountain Fort in November 2015 without the approval of the provincial government.
The court action isn’t the first between B.C. Hydro and Site C protesters. Several First Nations and local residents have filed legal challenges over the dam, raising concerns about flooding and the impact the lake will create.