The provincial government is surreptitiously giving away our rivers for private power production to some of the world's biggest corporations. It has also stripped the public of any say in the matter.

Bill 30 was rushed into law to overturn the Squamish/Lillooet Regional District's opposition to damming the Ashlu River and in the process handcuffs ALL local governments. Bill 15 significantly reduces the oversight of the BC Utilities Commission over private power projects. What next? Water of course.

Recently the Strathcona Regional District board of directors passed a resolution to "support the call for a two-year moratorium on granting water licences, environmental permits and land tenures for the purpose of developing private run-of-river or hydro power projects."

As of July 11, there are 119 current licences and 546 applications, four of them in the Comox Valley on the Tsable, Cruikshank, Piggot, and Browns rivers.

Damien Gillis, producer of "POWERPLAY, The Theft of BC's Rivers", is coming to Courtenay to show his films and talk about these issues on Friday July 18, 7pm at the Florence Filberg Centre. To view the films online and get more information about, visit saveourrivers.ca .

Barb Biley is a volunteer organizer with the Citizens for Quality Health Care, a campaign to keep our community hospitals well-funded and viable. "There's a connection between the privatization of health care and the private power fire sale," said Biley. "Remember how BC Rail was quickly sold and more recently, one-third of BC Hydro was given to Accenture—of Enron fame? And then legislation was quickly introduced to make it easier to sell off Hydro's assets. BC Hydro is now forbidden by government policy from adding any new publicly owned domestic resources to generate electricity."

There will be a follow-up meeting on Saturday morning, July 19, at the BCGEU meeting room, 910 Fitzgerald Avenue at 9am to continue the discussion. (fmi 250 338 4067)

ernie yacub
250 897 3916