A Fort St. John–based wildlife biologist said she will not stop in her fight against the proposed Site C dam.

And Diane Culling, a member of the Peace Valley Environment Association, said she drew inspiration from a family that has farmed in the Bear Flat community just above the flood reserve level above the Peace River for three generations.

Those family members carrying on the fight, Arlene and Ken Boon, have been vehement in their steadfast opposition to the dam.

“I’ll never stop fighting Site C, because I never want that woman to lose her home,” Culling said on May 31 during an event at Heritage Hall on Main Street hosted by the Wilderness Committee.

This was just one moment in an evening laced with reasons that the $7.9-billion project should be shelved for good. Aside from the families there, Culling also said the provincial government is misleading the public by claiming the project is green and is being undertaken to combat climate change.

“We have to start thinking about mitigation and adaptation, and the last thing we want to do in this province—with an increasing population and climate change—the absolute last thing we should be doing is destroying some of the best agricultural land,” she said. “This is quite literally some of the best in the country.”

Joe Foy, national campaign director with the Wilderness Committee, noted that the Site C dam has been built on myth.

He said the power is not needed, and as proof of this he noted that the province does not repatriate the Columbia River Treaty downstream benefits in the form of power.

The treaty was signed with the U.S. in 1961 after B.C. had agreed to build several hydroelectric dams that benefited citizens on both sides of the border with power production and flood control.

However, Foy said B.C. is only taking cash payments from the U.S. rather than the “Site C whack of power” it is entitled to that could eliminate the need for more dams and capacity.

The proposed project at Site C would include a 1,100-metre-long earthfill dam and concrete structures with a length of 300 metres. The reservoir behind the dam would be 83 kilometres long.

Gwen Johannson said her home just west of Fort St. John would be gone if the valley is flooded.

“It’s your resource,” Johansson said, adding later: “If we let it [flooding] happen, we’ve got no one else to blame but ourselves.”

In all, 55 people attended the event, which is part of a provincewide tour.