Columbia-F raser harclen plan would secure B.C. future / E [me el Ml uN — r [ei . NB A ; (ac uy Ce " o iy = EY) INR EXOINUS ome fAlovrase : FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 1955 By HAL GRIFFIN A billion-dollar federal scheme to divert the flood waters of the Columbia River into Fraser and create a vast hydro-electric and irrigation project in the B.C. interior has seized the imagination of the people of this province. As yet it is little more than a dream of engineers in the department of northern affairs and national resources, but a dream of sufficient substance to ee, the federal government's spending some $200,000 on a year’s engineering study of it. Beyond that, the future of the project is undetermined. government’s idea is to ascertain whether the project is considered economically feasible and then perhaps to proceed with en- gineering plans. - Widespread popular insistence upon the carrying through of a Canadian scheme to develop the tremendous hydro-electric re- sources of this province, now centred around the opposition to the Bennett government’s Col- umbia River deal with the US. Kaiser interests, can compel the St. Laurent government to trans- late plans into action. The federal scheme corre- sponds to the national interest and answers the industrial needs of this province. It can be carried through en- tirely on Canadian territory in- dependently of the United States, although it will. undoubtedly come under heavy U.S. political pressure inspired by U.S. mono- PROPOSED MICA CR. - STORAGE SAM PRODOSED DAM TO CONVERT COLUMBIA WATER INTO EAGLE R. poly interests striving to seize Canadian water resources for their own hvdro-electric and in- dustrial development south of the border. 10 billion kilowatt hours of pow- er a year, perhaps as much as 30 billion kilowatt hours from a fully developed system, supply- ing power over a huge area of B.C. and for Alberta centres as far as Calgary and Edmonton. With its unrivalled hydro-elec- tric and natural gas resources, this province could become a great industrial centre. NORMAL RORISE The federal scheme envisages construction of a 700-foot storage COLUMBIA dam at Mica Creek, creating a lake 50 miles long, and produc- ing 1.5 million horsepower. At Little Dalles, above Revel- stoke, another diversion dam would be constructed and a tun- nel cut through ‘Eagle Mountain ‘ In the plan now under study by federal engineers, Columbia River eaters would be > diverted by way of Eagle River, Shushwap Lake and the Thompson River (TOP). through of the billion-dollar project would transform Ashcroft (BOTTON), one of British Col. umbia’s most historic towns, ! . to. earry the Columbia waters to / ' Griffin Lake, where another pow- er development might be under- taken. From Griffin Lake the Col- umbia waters would flow into the Eagle River, through Shushwap Lake into the South Thompson and then into the Fraser. As part of the project, divert- ing of part of the water into the Okanagan to irrigate some one million aéres of land will come under consideration. Canada’s right to divert the Columbia River is recognized under the Boundary Waters will have to be upheld against powerful U.S. pressure: _ The alternative to the Colum- bia-Fraser scheme, according to Warren Baldwin, Ottawa corre- papers, “is a project already in the discussion stage with Ameri- can power interests” to: provide water storage “for power develop- ment and potential power devel- opment on the Columbia in Can- ada and the U.S.” But, Baldwin adds, “until the Fraser River diversion scheme has been studied there will be no Carrying PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JANUARY 7, 1955 — PAGE 12 The ~ It would provide an estimated. Treaty of 1909 — but the right spondent for the Southam news- ° The policies of the Liberal- Conservative Coalition and now the Social Credit government of virtually giving away provincial natural resources to U.S. inter- ests have created temporary em- ployment but few permanent jobs. The industrial expansion that would follow upon the Col- umbia - Fraser project would create thousands of permanent jobs and lead to the unprecedent- ed growth of British Columbia’s population. Construction of the oil pipe- line created temporary employ- ment but very few permanent jobs because the greater part of the oil is destined for the U.S. Construction of the proposed natural gas pipeline would simil- arly create temporary work but leave few vermanent jobs for Canadians because four-fifths of the gas will go to the U.S. and secondary industries in B.C. will be stunted by U.S. domination. Construction of the proposed Kaiser ‘storage dam at Arrow Lakes would also provide temp- orary employment but the per- manent iobs that would follow a° Canadian development would be exportéd with the flow of water across the border. Only by a Canadian hydro-elec- tric scheme can ensure British Columbia’s industrial future — and the Columbia - Fraser _scheme meets the need. The Kaiser scheme would store Columbia River waters for U.S. hydro-electric plants downstream and B.C. would get a piddling re- turn in cash and power. Tunnel through mountain deal with the American inter- ests A united popular demand in _ this province can defeat U.S. schemes to seize Canada’s water resources and compel the govern- ment to launch a Canadian hydro- electric development. * Already there are hints that the St. Laurent government may have broached the Columbia- Fraser scheme merely — to strengthen its hand in its politi- cal struggle with the Bennett government and with a view to exacting higher terms from U.S. power interests. “ _ But, whatever its intentions, the St. Laurent government has launched an idea the strength of which can defeat any attempted betrayal to the US. The -Vancouver Daily Brovince; welcoming the proposed study, voiced a widespread sentiment in this province when it observed on December 30: “The ‘importance of this scheme is that instead of selling or renting our surplus water mainly to power plants in the United: States, we would make full use of it here in Canada. . . “The new scheme could double the industry and population of B.C. in 15 to-20 years. It would fulfil the dream of a new indus- trial empire in this province. . ... “But to jeopardize such pro- posals by piecemeal fiddling with Canadian as would be pure lunacy. 222