Site C: Dammed if you do, damned if you don’t

Photo: Don Hoffman

The controversial approval of the Site C dam project by Premier Horgan and the NDP government won support from business and labour interests even as it was condemned by environmentalists and First Nations. To help sort through the issues involved, this forum brings together three experts, all of whom have offered policy advice on Site C, to provide perspective on the decision.

Although registration for the discussion is now closed, you can still participate through our live stream on facebook. Feel free to watch and post questions to the panelists remotely.

Mark Jaccard, an economist, is a professor of sustainable energy in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University. He was nominated to the Royal Society of Canada in 2008 for his career work on energy and climate policy design and analysis.

Karen Bakker is Professor, Canada Research Chair, and Director of UBC’s Program on Water Governance. She was named one of Canada’s “top 40 under 40” in 2011 and nominated to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Scientists and Artists in 2014.

Gordon Christie, Professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at UBC, will discuss why it is important all Canadians be concerned about how both Indigenous and non-Indigenous governments interact with Treaty 8 territory (which includes Site C), and how historic treaties function – and should function – in the modern world.

The forum will be moderated by Charlie Smith, editor of The Georgia Straight.

This forum is organized by the Pacific Chapter of the Royal Society of Canada in conjunction with the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies to promote dialogue and public understanding.

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