From Westcoaster.ca – Feb 3, 2011
by Jessica Kirby
Former lawyer and cabinet minister turned political junkie
Rafe Mair will be visiting Port Alberni and Tofino in February to
discuss the Raven Coal project and environmental issues in B.C.
He and filmmaker Damien Gillis are promoting their recently launched “Common Sense Canadian,” a blog aimed at creating a platform for environmental discussion and action across the province.
According to the blog, “the Common Sense Canadian
tackles the issues that really matter to Canadians and the world, such
as water, energy, food, democracy – not to mention government corruption
and corporate greed.”
Mair says run-of-river power projects, those
that use the natural flow and elevation drop of a river to fuel power
generation, threaten every stream and river in B.C. and the ecology that
depends on them.
Most are products of contracts forced on BC Hydro
by the Liberal government, stipulating that the corporation has to
purchase power it doesn’t need from independent companies at twice the
export price, says Mair.
Mair and Gillis are on a cross-province
tour to reach every British Columbian with the message that it is time
to say, “enough is enough” to the B.C. government, and demand protection
for the province’s natural resources.
Westcoaster.ca
caught up with Mair before the event to get his take on the key issues
affecting environmental health on Vancouver Island and in the rest of
the province.
How do you feel about the Raven Coal project?
Any
time a mining development is anywhere near the public, it is not quite
on. It’s not like we are short on coal, and if we need to use it for
energy, then there are all sorts of coal mines and coal deposits around
the world that don’t impede on land that is tender from an environmental
point of view and that are not close to people.
What I see with the Raven Mine is that it is too close to the
population and has to serve a market that does not serve B.C. I have a
problem with the mine situation because I understand that people have to
mine things, but what is lacking is public consultation before it
becomes a done deal.
One thing we’ve got to come to grips with in society is that we can’t
have a one-law-fits-all situation. Each place has different and
equities, and when it comes to mining the days of wading into someone’s
back yard with a pick axe are over. Society has developed and so options
are available – not mining near Fish Lake or not putting slag into it,
for example. It is new work for miners, but one has to take things like
Raven Mine and assess the situation and anyone with half a brain can see
that it is not on.
What is the most important environmental issue B.C. is facing right now?
It
is the run-of-rivers [power generation projects], no question about it.
The issue is agreements the Liberals made with independent power
generation companies. These are not mom and pop operations; they are
huge international companies like GE, Ledcor, and DuPont. They do not
let the water bubble along freely. In some cases they take away up to 90
per cent of the water. The ecology that depends on that river is
damaged; add that to the trees that are taken down for roads …
Point two is that BC Hydro is forced to pay double the export price
to IPPs, and they have to take it or pay it. Because of energy created
privately during spring run-off when BC Hydro doesn’t need it, it must
be used or exported instead of using what they can generate themselves
for a twelfth of the price.
The so-called run-of-rivers are hugely destructive of fish. They say
they don’t put weirs in pace where there are significant values of fish
to be hurt. This is just nonsense. There isn’t a single river in B.C.
without significant fish values.
The biggest problem is getting people to believe that any government
could be so fucking stupid. Their eyes glaze over as they think, “No one
would ever do that,” but that is exactly what they are doing.
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