Klahoose
Work was completed in early July on the project that was started by Klahoose members to honour workers who had perished in a plane accident on their way to Toba last year as well as an on-site accident related to the Plutonic Power hydroelectric project in the area.
Support for the pole came from Klahoose chief and council as well as Plutonic.
A new dock arrived at Squirrel Cove in late June.
The 80-foot concrete and foam structure arrived at Klahoose First Nation after being towed through Desolation Sound from its Powell River manufacturer.
The new dock represents a boon for economic development as well as easier landings for Klahoose members. A road will soon be constructed to access the dock. It will provide access for floatplanes and commercial vessels.
North Island NDP MLA Claire Trevena said: “Friends of the BC Liberals are coming in, getting very sweet deals to take over our rivers for 40-plus years, to industrialize them, to allow environmental degradation in the process, and to sell the power produced so that Californians can keep their air conditioners running in the summer and their golf courses green.”
But George Abbott, the minister of aboriginal relations, shot back: “They’re now getting very excited that a big corporation like General Electric might have the audacity to create jobs, to make an investment, to pay taxes in the province of British Columbia. But big corporations are really, really bad, apparently.
“The Klahoose partnership with Plutonic involves employment. It involves contracting opportunities on road building, on land clearing, on the operation of the entire worksite at Toba Inlet. It also involves some skills training in a partnership with North Island College.
“How was it that a big corporation like Plutonic Power was to enter into what appears to be such a beneficial partnership with the Klahoose First Nation? The answer is that, in fact, it is a beneficial partnership. It is only when we take very artificial constructs, like big, evil corporations, and apply them to an area of economic endeavour that one reaches entirely irrational conclusions – like the NDP do – about the partnerships with First Nations.”
