The concept of building these dams to create benefits in another country at a tremendous cost to the B.C. government and having all the negative impacts and ecological damage is extraordinary in the history of Canada.
There was never any good reason to enter into this Treaty arrangement with the Americans in the first place. There is even less reason to keep it around today when Hydro needs to maximize the generating potential of our rivers to meet its domestic loads.
The 50 per cent Canadian entitlement formula simply doesn’t fit with modern needs of either the U.S. or Canada. The Columbia River Treaty is arguably the darkest period in the history of B.C. We need to close the book on it and start a new chapter where B.C. resources will be used for the 100 per cent benefit of Canadians.
Ed McGinnis
Fauquier, B.C.
