Island News & Views
General · 6th April 2009
Susan Westren
Friends of Bute Inlet: Media Release
By Friend of Bute - Posted on 06 April 2009
Rally for Rivers and Local Politicians Reject BC’s Private Energy Goldrush
AVICC Demands Sustainable Energy Planning Process and Supports Moratorium on River Diversion Approvals
Nanaimo: More than 400 people gathered outside the Nanaimo Conference Centre on Saturday afternoon to support local government politicians meeting inside at the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) annual conference. While delegates to the convention deliberated the proliferation of river diversion hydroelectric projects throughout the coast, citizens attending the Rally for Rivers demanded best environmental practices and democratic process. Local governments have had no official say in land use planning for energy projects since 2003 when the provincial government unilaterally enacted Bill 30, the legislation that strips local government of its land use jurisdiction over these projects
The rally was a visual, musical and vocal display of the intense feelings people share about free flowing rivers, as well as a demand to participate in the decisions about BC’s water resources. Speakers addressed energy consumption and stressed conservation imperatives. They demanded environmental assessments for every river project and called for a halt to private projects that are generating less-than-green energy for profit and export, instead of serving the needs of British Columbia.
Rally organizer Lannie Keller pointed to the diversity of people in the crowd noting, “We are citizens from every walk of life and every island community. We want conservation initiatives, we want local participation in developing BC’s renewable energy resources -- and we don’t like what’s happening to BC rivers!” She went on to say, “We support our local elected representatives’ challenge to the government’s top-down corporate agenda.”
While the rally got into full swing outside, local government representatives listened to proponents of Independent Power Projects present rationale for fast-tracking “green” energy projects. Industry arguments did not however convince local government of the merits of short sighted, financially motivated plans.
On Sunday, the AVICC passed three major policy resolutions calling on the provincial government to immediately commence an integrated sustainable energy planning process, place a moratorium on any further issuance of water licenses or land tenures, and to restore BC Hydro's mandate to find opportunities for developing sustainable alternative energy projects.
"The delegates at this convention are representatives from Bella Coola to Powell River, Port Hardy to Victoria and all the local governments in between," said Jim Abram, the Director for the Strathcona Regional District, where Canada’s largest private power project is being proposed in Bute Inlet. "The AVICC is made up of elected people from the entire political spectrum, and on this day, they have all come together to tell the provincial government that the provincial energy policy needs to be overhauled and that local governments and communities need to be heard and included in resource development decisions.”
Rally organizers were pleased with the AVICC votes. “We must find ways to address global warming and drastically reduce fossil fuel dependence, and we don’t need to sacrifice our rivers and wilderness ecosystems to create a renewable energy economy that truly benefits the citizens British Columbia,” said Keller. “We hope these resolutions create momentum for a big shift in government policies.”
from www.buteinlet.net
By Friend of Bute - Posted on 06 April 2009
Rally for Rivers and Local Politicians Reject BC’s Private Energy Goldrush
AVICC Demands Sustainable Energy Planning Process and Supports Moratorium on River Diversion Approvals
Nanaimo: More than 400 people gathered outside the Nanaimo Conference Centre on Saturday afternoon to support local government politicians meeting inside at the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) annual conference. While delegates to the convention deliberated the proliferation of river diversion hydroelectric projects throughout the coast, citizens attending the Rally for Rivers demanded best environmental practices and democratic process. Local governments have had no official say in land use planning for energy projects since 2003 when the provincial government unilaterally enacted Bill 30, the legislation that strips local government of its land use jurisdiction over these projects
The rally was a visual, musical and vocal display of the intense feelings people share about free flowing rivers, as well as a demand to participate in the decisions about BC’s water resources. Speakers addressed energy consumption and stressed conservation imperatives. They demanded environmental assessments for every river project and called for a halt to private projects that are generating less-than-green energy for profit and export, instead of serving the needs of British Columbia.
Rally organizer Lannie Keller pointed to the diversity of people in the crowd noting, “We are citizens from every walk of life and every island community. We want conservation initiatives, we want local participation in developing BC’s renewable energy resources -- and we don’t like what’s happening to BC rivers!” She went on to say, “We support our local elected representatives’ challenge to the government’s top-down corporate agenda.”
While the rally got into full swing outside, local government representatives listened to proponents of Independent Power Projects present rationale for fast-tracking “green” energy projects. Industry arguments did not however convince local government of the merits of short sighted, financially motivated plans.
On Sunday, the AVICC passed three major policy resolutions calling on the provincial government to immediately commence an integrated sustainable energy planning process, place a moratorium on any further issuance of water licenses or land tenures, and to restore BC Hydro's mandate to find opportunities for developing sustainable alternative energy projects.
"The delegates at this convention are representatives from Bella Coola to Powell River, Port Hardy to Victoria and all the local governments in between," said Jim Abram, the Director for the Strathcona Regional District, where Canada’s largest private power project is being proposed in Bute Inlet. "The AVICC is made up of elected people from the entire political spectrum, and on this day, they have all come together to tell the provincial government that the provincial energy policy needs to be overhauled and that local governments and communities need to be heard and included in resource development decisions.”
Rally organizers were pleased with the AVICC votes. “We must find ways to address global warming and drastically reduce fossil fuel dependence, and we don’t need to sacrifice our rivers and wilderness ecosystems to create a renewable energy economy that truly benefits the citizens British Columbia,” said Keller. “We hope these resolutions create momentum for a big shift in government policies.”
from www.buteinlet.net