Episode #20
The Treaty
Published:
Episode Length:
Episode Guests:
Janet and Crystal Spicer – Sisters who grew up in Nakusp before the Columbia River dams were built
Corky Evans – Former provincial politician
Josh Smienk – Former chair of the Columbia Basin Trust
Sophie Pierre – Ktunaxa Chief
Eileen Delahanty Pearkes – Author of “A River Captured”
Episode Overview
The Columbia River Treaty governs the water that flows from the headwaters of the Columbia River, through the Kootenays, to where it ends in the United States. It profoundly changed the Basin, turning once fertile valleys into lakes and altering river ecosystems forever, while at the same time, preventing catastrophic flooding and generating billions of dollars in hydroelectric revenue. Currently, the treaty is up for renegotiation. We talk to families disenfranchised by treaty dams, politicians who negotiated ways to mitigate its impacts, and writers lobbying for a better future.
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