EDMONTON – First Nations and environmental groups want the federal government to revisit its approval of British Columbia’s Site C dam which they say would threaten a national park that is a World Heritage Site.
They say the situation is so serious they will ask UNESCO investigators to put Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta on its list of threatened sites.
READ MORE: UN looks at BC hydro project’s potential impact on Alberta world heritage site
Chief Steve Courtoreille of the Mikisew Cree First Nation says hydro development in B.C. has dried out the area so much that his people can’t get into parts of their traditional territory by boat.
Alison Woodley of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society says the region is threatened by the cumulative effects of several dams as well as upstream oilsands development.
UNESCO investigators have been in Alberta visiting the national park and talking to government, industry and scientific presenters.
The UNESCO team is to report in November and the agency is to rule on Wood Buffalo next summer.