Poll shows support for Site C growing
Alaska Highway News
Over the past three years, support for Site C across the province has grown from less than half to over half, according to a new poll commissioned by BC Hydro.
On Tuesday, Hydro released the poll results from Abacus Data, an Ottawa-based polling firm, who surveyed more than 1,000 people.
Respondents were asked whether they strongly supported, supported, opposed or strongly opposed certain power-generating initiatives, and also if they “didn’t know” the answer.
When respondents were asked about Site C specifically, they were also given the choice to say they supported it “under certain circumstances.”
Fifty-nine per cent of those polled across B.C. either strongly supported or supported the Site C dam.
Seventeen per cent strongly supported the dam, while 42 per cent supported the dam.
That's a big increase from 2013, when 42 per cent of the respondents either strongly supported or supported the dam.
The surveys show that opposition has held steady.
The most recent survey shows 17 per cent oppose construction of the Site C dam, down from 18 per cent in 2013.
The poll also touched on other aspects of electricity production.
The poll suggested that the highest number of people (75 per cent) either strongly supported or supported building a new hydroelectric dam and purchasing power from independent power producers.
"Build more natural gas power plants" had the support of 64 per cent of respondents.
The options which had the least support were "using higher prices to encourage customers to cut down on consumption" (59 per cent opposed), and "importing electricity from outside B.C." (77 per cent opposed).
Wilderness Committee National Campaign Director Joe Foy took issue with the question the posters used to gather data.
The question asked whether people supported Site C “to help meet the rising demand for electricity in B.C.”
“It looks like the pollsters haven’t said that the environmental assessment panel said there was not a proven government need for the power,” said Foy. “To leave that out, you start to lead people to conclusions.”
The poll was released Tuesday, hours before a provincial news release announced that Site C had received permits to allow some construction to go ahead.
“It seems to me to be a propaganda attack followed by an authorization,” Foy said. “I think the poll is a smokescreen to take people’s minds off what really going on.”
