Paddling for the Peace

This is the Peace River Valley in northeastern British Columbia.  It is home to countless forms of life.  Many have been here for thousands of years.  People of the First Nations, mammals, fish, birds, insects, plants and later settlers from Europe and their descendants who farm the rich soil in this unique ecosystem.  

Here are some of the thousand people who paddled for the Peace River last month.  They were local people and people from as far away as Italy and Indonesia.  They were people from First Nations communities, farmers and environmentalists.  People from cities and people from the country. They were people who love the river and the land around it.  People who value the habitat and ecosystems that the valley provides.   People who are thinking about what they are leaving for their children. They were part of the 11^th annual Paddle for the Peace.

So why were they paddling?  They are part of a movement that is striving to protect the river valley from being permanently flooded if BC Hydro’s Site-C dam is built.  The dam would flood 83 km of the Peace River, 10km of the Moberly River and 14 km of the Halfway River.  This would mean that 31,528 acres of Class 1 – 7 agricultural land and over 17,000 acres of forested land would disappear.  You can see the paddlers setting out in A Story of the Peace River.

This unique microclimate can support corn, field tomatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon even though it is farther north than you would expect to see these crops.  Losing this land would make BC people more reliant on US crops.  There are other forms of creating energy but no way of creating more fertile land.  It takes 600 years to create 2cm of soil while BC Hydro estimates the dam would only last 100 years.

Northeast BC has already been impacted by the oil, gas and forestry industries. The Peace River is both home and a highway for many ecosystems and the wildlife that require them for survival.  Species of fish and birds would lose their migratory homes. (Save BC from Site-C website )

A Joint Review Panel which received submissions on the project concluded that BC does not need this project at this time.  There is no need for increased production and the energy generated by the $8.8 billion project would be sold to the US at a loss.  It simply makes no sense.  The energy could be provided by geothermal and wind energy which would also cost less.  The youtube video Peace for a Valley gives you a good overview of the project. You can hear from the people who live in the valley about the impact the dam will have.  

 Every year for the past 11 years, the Peace Valley Environment Association and the West Moberly First Nations host a "Paddle for the Peace"  that brings hundreds of people to protest Site-C on the Peace River. 

RAVEN Trust (Respecting Aboriginal Values and Environmental Needs) joined with these groups to bring more people out this year.  One participant wrote in an email, “as we floated along we saw beavers, eagles and deer.  We also witnessed incredibly committed people taking a courageous stand in a community that has been deeply divided by this project.  Farm folk, city folk, First Nations and people from all walks of life joined hands to support one another in stopping a project that would be a disaster for our common future.”

Over 20,000 people have signed a petition asking the federal government not to sign any permits for the dam until the court challenge can be heard.  RAVEN has raised $260,000 for this challenge so far.  BC businesses are holding fundraisers to add to this.  While the Peace River paddle took place the Sechelt First Nation did as well and so did paddlers in Nelson, BC, and Saanich Inlet.  In Vancouver, there was a march and flotilla.

You can see some of the paddle on River Interrupted.   This is a beautiful little video that shows all these people paddling together, working together to save this part of Canada for future generations. “There has to be a new way of thinking,” says Roland Wilson, Chief of the West Moberly First Nation. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May speaks as well, calling on the federal government to respect treaty rights on this land.

Site-C Dam would impact land that is part of the Treaty 8 First Nations.  This treaty states that the people of those nations could carry out their treaty rights and cultural practices “…for as long as the sun shines, the rivers flow and the grass grows.”  The dam could impact up to 337 archeological sites including ancestral gravesites.

BC Hydro has already started working on the dam but the people who love the Peace River Valley have not given up.  They continue raising money for the court challenge and calling on the federal government to stop issuing permits.  They are doing what they can to create a better future for our children and all their relations in the natural world.  This is the new story Canadians are creating.  You can go out with the song, Rise Up for the Peace River Valley .

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