Demise of Kemano II reason to celebrate in Indian Country

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First Great Whale is stopped and now Alcan's Kemano II - the last few months have provided much to celebrate in Indian Country.

The $1. 3 billion hydroelectric monster, known as the Kemano Completion Project, which promised to change forever the face of the Fraser River system in British Columbia, met its undignified demise Jan. 23.

Acting as coroner, provincial Mike Harcourt took the pulse of common opinion, and with the insight granted politicians during the months leading to an election, announced KCP dead.

The process leading up to that announcement has been a long and painful one. Everyone from environmental organizations to Native groups have taken a run at the sensitive underbelly of the beast over the years. The original project, Kemano I, was unpopular with the Cheslatta Indians since the 1950s when the Nation was uprooted by constant flooding and washed away to settle in Grassy Plains. The Cheslatta Nation is still waiting for compensation for the upheaval.

In 1987, though, when the federal government granted Alcan its sweetheart deal, allowing the company to bypass environmental assessment studies and move to construct Kemano II, the public showed it would not stand for another assault on the land. It was an appealing agreement. Now, eight years later, that public position has been vindicated and the fights seems to have been won.

What was it, though that finally killed Kemano after all these years?

It was the salmon, Harcourt said. The threat the project posed to the multi-billion dollar fishing industry was too great to chance. Building Kemano would lower the Nechako River by 88 per cent of its natural flow. An environment disaster waiting to happen, it seemed.

The more cynical believe, however, it is not so much the salmon Harcourt intends to save, but the skin of the ruling New Democrats. Could it just be a well-timed decision for a flagging political party entering the first stages of an upcoming election?

What really killed Kemano? The sleazy, backroom dealings of an arrogant federal government and a mega-corporation trying to cut corners, limit input, and stifle responsibility? The people of B.C. insisted on the kind of responsibility to the land and its people we've come to realize goes hand-in-hand with successful economic development.

The Conservative party which sanctioned the Kemano project those many years ago has all but gone the way of the dodo. It seems fitting that the agreement itself should be tossed out after them. The flagrant flaunting of the rules of fair play will now and forever be intolerable. The Liberal government should see the situation so clearly. It's now up to them to put he final nail in the Kemano coffin.

Amid the cheers and applause for Harcourt's decision, however, there is resentment and anger. From those small communities that saw Kemano as a means to create economic wealth, the decision to scrap the project has been denounced. "British Columbia is closed for business," the municipal leaders say.

In fact, the message that has been sent to business is not that B.C. is unwelcoming, but that it has standards that cannot be compromised. Its people must be consulted, and its land protected. If the province does not attract the kind of business that is willing to live up to those standards - good riddance.