Please take the time to read this and to go to the sites indicated to read more and to sign the petition.

Protecting BC Rivers

Introduction:
This document is meant to 'up the ante' on public debate respecting water and its allocation in British Columbia. It also presents creative ideas to significantly democratize water governance/management in the province. Your support would help to increase public awareness of water issues and hopefully "kick-start" a democratic process to modernize water law in British Columbia. The province-wide situation we face respecting private power development on British Columbia rivers is due to a dysfunctional, ancient Water Act that centralizes political decision-making and fails to act in the public interest by placing too much priority for water allocation on industrial uses.

VIRTUAL PETITION AND "e-MARCH"
TO PROTECT BRITISH COLUMBIA RIVERS
(c) Peter Dimitrov, March 26, 2008

WHEREAS there are hundreds of British Columbia rivers and creeks endangered by industrial and hydropower projects by private energy corporations; (see: http://ippwatch.info/cms/index.php

AND WHEREAS as a consequence of highly lucrative and secret energy purchase contracts' with BC Hydro that collectively enable private energy companies to make billions of dollars while the Government of British Columbia gets significantly lower revenues and no public assets, (see: http://www.citizensforpublicpower.ca/ thereby depriving the public treasury of monies for health care, education, public housing, mass transit, alleviation of poverty, and other public expenditures.

AND WHEREAS the Government of British Columbia's Environmental Assessment (EA) process is highly centralized, deeply flawed and politicized, as well as failing to assess the 'need' for the aforementioned private energy projects or their cumulative triple bottom line (ecological, economic and socal) impacts; see:http://www.ourrivers.ca/ and: http://publicpowerbc.ca/hydro-rates-radio and: http://www.wildernesscommittee.org/ and: http://www.bc-creeks.org/

AND WHEREAS there exists little to no watershed management plans for the watersheds of BC rivers and creeks;

WE THE UNDERSIGNED, BEING ELECTORATE WHO SHALL BE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE IN THE BRITISH COLUMIBA PROVINCIAL ELECTION OF MAY 2009 HEREBY:

A. Register our opposition to the continued private power development of BC rivers and creeks.

And we call for:

1. An immediate moritorium on all existing and future hydroelectric developments on BC rivers & creeks by private or publicly trading energy corporations.

2. The establishment of a Citizen's Commission on Water Governance with terms of reference enabling it to hold hearings and meetings around British Columbia so as to receive oral and written submissions pertaining to the governance of water resources in British Columbia. Their publicly available report to be tabled to the Legislature and not privately to Cabinet.

The hoped for outcome of such a democratic initiative is the repeal of the existing Water Act and the subsequent drafting of a modern Governance of Water Resources Act to be lawfully approved.

It is our hope that such new Legislation will modernize the democratic governance of BC water resources and cause discussion of various creative ideas that will arise in the process of consultation with the public.

Sign the Online Petition;
http://www.bc.politics.ca/petitionForm.cfm?petitionID=3