Site C hydroelectric dam, which will lead to the flooding of more than 5,000 hectares of land, spurs concerns for indigenous people who rely on the area

Human rights campaigners are calling on Canadian authorities to halt construction of a huge hydroelectric dam in western Canada over concerns that the mega-project tramples on the rights of indigenous peoples in the area.



A global campaign launched by Amnesty International on Tuesday called on the federal government and the provincial government of British Columbia to withdraw all permits and approvals for the Site C hydroelectric dam, a C$9bn project that will see more than 5,000 hectares (12,350 acres) of land – roughly equivalent to about 5,000 rugby fields – flooded in north-east British Columbia.

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The land is part of the traditional territories of indigenous peoples in the region, said Craig Benjamin of Amnesty International Canada. “It’s an area that people have used for thousands upon thousands of years. Their ancestors are buried in the land; there are hundreds of unique sites of cultural importance; there is cultural knowledge of how to live on land that is associated with this specific spot.”

Many continue to rely on the land to hunt, fish, plant medicines, gather berries and conduct ceremonies. “There are really few other places where they can go to practice their culture and to exercise their rights because this is a region that has been so heavily impacted by large-scale resource development.”

Amid protests by several First Nations groups, the project was approved by provincial and federal authorities in 2014, allowing preparatory work to begin last summer. Earlier this year, as clear-cutting began in the area, part of the construction was held up by a protest camp set up by indigenous activists.

“This is home,” said Helen Knott, one of the half a dozen protesters who occupied the site. “The rivers are the arteries of the Earth. When we block them up, the earth becomes unhealthy. It’s about being able to protect something to pass on to our children.” After two months in the snow and braving temperatures that dropped as low as -20C, a provincial court ordered them to dismantle the camp.

The province of British Columbia has said the project – which ranks among the largest resource development projects currently in the works in Canada – will eventually provide enough electricity for about 450,000 homes and help the province address a 40% increase in demand for power forecast over the next two decades. The project is also expected to generate some 10,000 construction jobs and another 33,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Late last month, the federal government, led by Justin Trudeau, quietly issued the necessary approvals to move forward with the project, granting BC Hydro permission to block the river and flood the valley. Some First Nations contrasted the government’s actions with its recent signing of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – which gives the right to consent over development on their traditional lands – as well as government promises of a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with indigenous peoples.

“We seem to have gone backwards with this government,” said chief Roland Willson of West Moberly First Nations, one of the communities most affected by the construction of Site C. “I was hopeful that the Trudeau government would honour its words and promises to the First Nations people, but saying it is one thing, doing it is another. This government has shown that they’re all talk and no action.”

His community is one of three First Nations that have challenged Site C in court, arguing that the project fails to consider their established rights to the land. “They do not have free, prior and informed consent from us at all. We’ve made that very clear from the beginning,” he said. “We never had the opportunity to talk about any kind of alternatives.”

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He pointed to the two reservoirs that currently exist along the Peace river, where Site C is being built. “What’s left remaining is the last stretch of river that we have in our territory,” he said. “We’ve never said no to the production of energy. We’ve said: ‘Let’s protect the valley.’ It’s the last piece of our backyard that’s relatively untouched.”

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the federal department behind the recent approvals for Site C, said the approvals were granted after “extensive First Nations consultations”.

The authorisation outlines more than 40 specific conditions that the project must adhere to and more conditions may be added, the ministry said in a statement to the Guardian.



