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Supreme Court dismisses two Site C lawsuits from B.C. First Nations

An artist's rendering of the Site C Dam project.

Canada’s top court won’t hear an appeal from two B.C. First Nations worried that construction of an $8.8-billion hydro-electric dam would violate their constitutionally protected treaty rights.

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Prophet River First Nation and West Moberly First Nation have been fighting the B.C. government in court for more than two years, hoping to halt construction of the Site C project.

READ MORE: Delaying Site C dam in B.C. could cost $600M: Clark

After losses at both the provincial court and Federal Court level, the Supreme Court refused to grant the First Nations leave to appeal.

Site C will flood more than 5,500 hectares of land along the Peace River in northeast B.C., creating an 83-kilometre-long reservoir and providing enough power to light up 450,000 homes a year.

Project construction started in the summer of 2015 and is scheduled for completion in 2024.

READ MORE: John Horgan urges BC Hydro not to finalize Site C deals

A review of the project concluded that there would be significant adverse environmental effects, impacting indigenous treaty rights in the area, but the previous Conservative government ruled it was justified.

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READ MORE: Site C dam project should be suspended: UBC study

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