Fort Chipewyan Métis chapter launches lawsuit

The Métis Nation of Alberta Association has launched a $3-billion lawsuit against B.C. Hydro and the federal government for damage to the Lake Athabasca delta created by two dams on British Columbia stretches of the Peace River. The suit, launched by the Fort Chipewyan chapter of the association, claims that the Bennett and Peace Canyon Dams have had disastrous effects on the Lake Athabasca delta created by the meeting of the Peace and Athabasca Rivers in northeastern Alberta. The dams have substantially reduced the flow of the Peace River and dried the delta by “virtually eliminating” the spring flooding. That lack of flow has had “irreversible” debilitating effects on wildlife and plants that the Métis rely upon to continue their way of life, the suit states. The reduced flow also infringes upon entrenched Métis water rights.