"Documents disclosed in a treaty infringement case offer a rare glimpse into the payments BC Hydro offered to First Nations as it sought support for the dam, the most expensive public megaproject in B.C.’s history"

"BC Hydro offered West Moberly First Nations $28 million in lump-sum payments and annual payments to address the impacts of the Site C dam, according to new court documents for a treaty rights infringement trial.

The documents also reveal details about deals BC Hydro signed with four of seven other B.C. Treaty 8 First Nations, which consented to the Site C dam project or did not “oppose or object” to it.

Until now, BC Hydro has withheld financial information about the secret deals it offered First Nations for the $10.7 billion Site C dam, the largest publicly funded project in the province’s history.

The documents, filed in B.C. Supreme Court on March 2, form part of BC Hydro’s response to a civil claim by West Moberly First Nations, which alleges the Site C dam and two previous dams on the Peace River constitute an unjustifiable infringement of treaty rights. A trial, scheduled to begin in March 2022, is expected to last six months."

Sarah Cox reports for the Narwhal April 2, 2020. [2]