The fate of the wild Kokish River on Vancouver Island was sealed two weeks ago. Despite hosting five species of wild salmon, two endangered runs of steelhead, cutthroat trout, Dolly Varden and eulachon, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans determined this fish-rich river should be dammed and diverted into a large pipe by a private power company.

 

People who care about wild salmon and wild rivers should be worried as this decision is a sign of things to come. Ottawa is in the process of dismantling environmental regulations that two generations of Canadians have fought to establish. Laws to protect our air, water and wild fish and regulations to ensure public participation and adequate environmental oversight are being gutted in favour of quick corporate profits and reduced government oversight.

 

The decision to put the Kokish into a pipe is a troubling one and flies in the face of common sense and the federal government's mandate to protect wild fisheries. The industrialization of the Kokish is especially concerning, given that river diversion projects in B.C. are beset by environmental problems. Recent freedom-of-information requests revealed that repeated malfunctions at power plants near Squamish resulted in "ramping" problems, where rapidly fluctuating water levels damaged fish habitat and killed salmon.

 

Environmental transgressions at river-diversion plants are not isolated. The DFO has publicly acknowledged there is "considerable non-compliance with managing flows for fish on operating projects." Given these concerns, the fact that Ottawa decided to play Russian roulette with a sensitive and high-value-fish river means no river is safe from development in B.C.

 

It is sobering to remember that river-diversion hydro projects were never supposed to be situated in fish habitat, let alone a highvalue-fish river that earlier this year was identified by the Outdoor Recreation Council of B.C. as one of the most endangered rivers in all of B.C.

 

The insults to the environment and the public good don't stop here.

 

A full week before the federal government publicly announced its approval of the proposal, the construction company contracted for the Kokish development ran helpwanted ads in the local papers. As such, the federal government's eventual approval of the project is a fait accompli and a slap in the face to the public rather than an impartial and legitimate assessment of the facts.

 

The choice to sacrifice the Kokish River speaks volumes to the value that the federal government places on wild rivers and wild salmon and the regard they have for an open, transparent and public process. Thousands of people and scores of community groups, including the B.C. Wildlife Federation, B.C. Federation of Fly Fishers, the Steelhead Society of B.C. and the Wilderness Committee, registered their opposition to a development that would damage and forever change a river renowned for its rare summer run of steelhead.

 

While it is widely acknowledged that the Kokish River hydro project is pure folly from an environmental perspective, the proposal also makes no sense from an economic standpoint.

 

River-diversion hydro power typically comes during spring freshet when the snow is melting and B.C. Hydro's large heritage dams are full; as such the power being produced was never meant for B.C. and was instead earmarked to be sold to our neighbours to the south. The only catch is, California doesn't consider river-diversion power to be green and they won't pay a premium for it. As a result, B.C. Hydro and ratepayers across B.C. are now on the hook for $40 billion in energy purchase agreements for expensive intermittent power that is surplus to our needs and will be sold at a loss.

 

We live in strange times. In former times, the Kokish would have been protected because of its high and sensitive fish values. However, the DFO has been emasculated by government cuts and a political climate that encourages voluntary compliance by industry rather than actual enforcement of the law.

 

Indeed, the numbers speak for themselves. In 2009 there were 14 successful convictions for violations of the Fisheries Act in B.C.; in 2010 just six charges and convictions were obtained and by 2011 this number had dwindled to just one successful Fisheries Act prosecution.

 

Unfortunately, things are about to get worse before they get better. Ottawa is in the midst of rolling back key pieces of environmental legislation, including the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the Fisheries Act. Accompanying these regulatory rollbacks are draconian budget cuts as well as the loss of hundreds of staff.

 

The industrialization of the Kokish River is about more than the loss of a wild river - it is also about the public good, rule of law, corporate checks and balances and the legitimacy of government actions.

 

Although the future of this wild river appears to be grave, it would serve us well to remember the Kokish as the fight to protect B.C.'s environment has just begun.