Supporters, opponents line up to make their case at Site C review panel hearings

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – A joint federal-provincial review panel will hear from hundreds when public hearings for the proposed Site C hydroelectric dam begin next month.

Thousands of documents had been filed by the Monday night deadline, with many dozen applications to speak at the hearings.

Supporters seem to have torn a page from the environmentalist strategy book, signing up in droves to speak in favour of the massive project when hearings begin Dec. 9.

That includes groups as diverse as the BC Business Council, the B.C. Roadbuilders, the Cement Association of B.C. and the New Car Dealers of British Columbia.

The list also includes one-time political heavyweights Blair Lekstrom, the former provincial energy minister, and his predecessor and now Conservative senator, Richard Neufeld.

Opponents of the project who have filed submissions to the panel include the Treaty 8 Nations, Nature Canada and Ken and Arlene Boon, ranchers who will lose their home if the project proceeds.