The B.C. government has decided to go ahead with the controversial Site C hydroelectric project on the condition it be renamed Reconciliation Dam, the province announced on Monday.
The project, which will flood thousands of hectares of land and displace several Indigenous communities had been stalled while the New Democrat government weighed whether to allow construction to continue.
“This was an extremely difficult decision but it’s a project that must ultimately move forward in the name of our burgeoning energy sector and in the spirit of reconciliation,” said Premier John Horgan.
“This is reconciliation in action.”
Horgan didn’t provide specifics on how Indigenous communities would benefit from the $10-billion dam, but was heard muttering something about how “even dams need janitors.”
The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs immediately issued a 10-minute stunned silence.