Province and Cheslatta Have MOU
Prince George, B.C. – The Cheslatta and Province of B.C. have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at finding solutions to the decades old issue of flood waters washing out gravesites.
“We have agreed to discussions and look at options to alleviate the flooding” says Mike Robertson, Senior Policy Advisor with the Cheslatta Carrier Nation. “It also addresses issues we’ve had with the government for some time.”
Those issues include, natural resource activity.
For the past 63 years, ever since the Kenney Dam was built , the Cheslatta Lake and River system have been uses as a spillway channel to link RioTinto Alcan’s reservoir to the Nechako River. When there is flooding, the high water levels have washed out graves, and the Cheslatta regularly discover skeletal remains on the shore .
“The flooding this year is the second worst on record” says Robertson “Once the water goes down, we will be doing reconnaissance again, as we do every year.”
RioTinto Alcan has total control on the water levels of the Nechako, and Robertson says the Cheslatta applied for a water licence in September of 2013, “That is basically in abeyance because Alcan does own the water, we are meeting with Alcan to look at some of the options.” One of the options is to have some kind of release at the Kenney Dam to totally bypass the Cheslatta Lake and River system.
In all, Robertson says the MOU is good news “It’s very good news, as (Cheslatta) Chief Corrina Leween said, it’s about time. We’re tired of talking, we want to sit down and look at some solutions, this is the first time any level of government has sat down with us and talk with us and listen to some of our solutions.”
The MOU includes the provision of $400 thousand dollars for short term watershed restoration projects in their traditional territory.
Comments
If this were the Fraser River washing skeletons out of the graves in the cemetery on Ferry avenue, I wonder how long it would have taken to resolve. Certainly not decades, that’s for sure.
Is it not possible to divert extra water down to Kemano already? I thought that the secondary water tunnels were already in place from the halted Kemano Completion Project.
stlawrencevalleycemetery.ca/history.html
“St. Lawrence Valley (Union) Cemetery is an all-denominational, not-for-profit, charitable cemetery that was established in 1957 as a direct result of the St. Lawrence Power Project of the Ontario Hydro Electric Commission with involvement from the governments of Canada and the United States.
“The purpose of the project was to construct, maintain and operate power development works in the International Rapids section of the St. Lawrence River, which necessitated the flooding of the land where eighteen cemeteries were located.”
Based on what happened in Ontario and New York State, the flooding of communities and cemeteries in the mid 1950’s were resolved prior to the flooding, as it should have been for the Cheslatta.
Seems both happened in the same decade.
So, are we surprised? Of course not! It is the way it was done then. I am not sure whether we have come far from the position of those days when Aboriginals were involved.
Comments for this article are closed.