Revelstoke will bear the brunt of independent power project development in the Columbia River-Revelstoke riding, says MLA Norm Macdonald.
“In my constituency, Revelstoke will be the most heavily impacted by river-diversion projects with more than 20 projects, active or proposed, between Shelter Bay and Mica,” he said Sunday. “Residents feel that this is a give-away of their public resource.”
That may well be the case in Golden and Field where he said crowds of between 100 and 200 attended meetings on independent power projects, but a meeting held here Saturday was sparsely attended, attracting just 25 people.
At Saturday night’s Rivers at Risk meeting, local residents gathered to learn more about the BC Energy Plan and the proposed private power developments that will affect the rivers and creeks in the Revelstoke area.
Sponsored by the Council of Canadians, COPE 378 and the Wilderness Committee, the theme of the forum was Power to the People? and addressed the need for the public’s inclusion in decision-making concerning the development of river-diversion projects. Concerned citizens raised questions about why they were being cut out of the process.
Macdonald spoke about the need to repeal Bill 30, Section 56 which removes local government from the process and encouraged participants to take action.
“People should not feel powerless to stop these developments,” he said. “On the Upper Pitt, 1,200 people turning up at a public meeting changed the minister’s mind. People do have the ability to affect public policy and if people are really serious about opposing the BC Energy Plan they can do it.”
Macdonald encouraged people to contact the premier or Energy Minister Richard Neufeld to register their concern.