No Dam for Magpie River |
14 December 04 |
 Private hydro developer HydroMega Services Inc. has plans to build a 40 MW dam on the Magpie River, 900 kilometres northeast of Montreal. But there are many people more interested in keeping the scenic river free-flowing Among them is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President of the Water Keeper Alliance, and Senior Attorney with the National Resources Defense Council."Quebec has a masterpiece in the Magpie River," Kennedy says. "For Quebec to build a dam on this river would be like finding the Mona Lisa in your basement and painting some-thing else over it to sell it for a quick dollar at a yard sale." Kennedy joined representatives of Berkeley-based International Rivers Network, Sierra Club of Canada, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Greenpeace and others for a rafting trip on the Magpie River, August 2004. The proposed dam on the Magpie is part of a 2001 provincial plan that called for 36 dams on 24 Quebec rivers. As a result of opposition like the pressure arising from the trip on the Magpie, all but three of the 36 projects have been scuttled. View the August 2004 International Rivers Network article (PDF) View theAugust 2004 Toronto Star article Visit the Rivers Foundation website Visit the Coalition Eau Secours (French only) website View the August 2004 Canada News Wire release Source: World Rivers Network |
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