Site C dam protesters can be removed
VANCOUVER — Opponents of a hydroelectric dam in northeastern British Columbia have suffered another setback following a court decision granting a request from BC Hydro to remove protesters camped out illegally near the megaproject’s construction site.
Justice G. Bruce Butler of the B.C. Supreme Court ruled Monday that it would be “contrary to the public interest” to allow demonstrators to continue trying to shut down work on the Site C dam. The project has already received regulatory approval from both the provincial and federal governments, and has survived several grassroots legal challenges.
“Protesters have no right to prevent (BC Hydro) from proceeding with the project,” Butler said in reading his judgment.
“The rule of law requires that when the processes have been followed and been completed, as they have in this case, those who have been granted the rights must be permitted to proceed.”