In the freezing cold of January 2016 in north east BC, a group of people who are in opposition of the Site C dam, set up a camp on the south bank of the Peace River at the historic Rocky Mountain Fort. BC Hydro was forced to go to court and get an injunction to have the camp dismantled and removed. The day the injunction was handed down, the campers dismantled and removed the camp with no argument. BC Hydro then launched a $460 million law suit against the people involved. Helen Knott of the Prophet River FN, Yvonne Tupper of the Saulteau FN, Ken and Arlene Boon and Esther Pederson, land owners and Verena Hoffman. Two people are listed as John Doe and Jane Doe, added in the event BC Hydro can identify others that aided the campers

We are calling on the government of BC and BC Hydro Power and Authority, a public BC utility, to drop this SLAPP suit immediately and without prejudice against the people named above, and any that may be added.

The construction of the Site C mega project will see massive infringement against nations within treaty 8 territory and an infringement case against the government is currently going through the courts. The land owners, who have previously refused to hand over their lands to BC Hydro, have subsequently had their holdings expropriated by the crown corporation and have lost their homes, livelihoods, and all they have worked for throughout their lives. These people have lost everything that matters to them, they have nothing left to give. They certainly don't have almost half a billion dollars. This SLAPP suit is BC Hydro's way of stifling opposition to Site C, taking away the constitutional rights to protest and free speech. It is a bullying tactic and it is an act of blatant intimidation. 

Please sign and share this petition to free these people from this debilitating and crippling SLAPP suit that has needlessly been brought against them. Having already stolen almost everything they own and hold dear, BC Hydro's refusal to rescind this suit is not only appalling, it is a tactic they frequently employ to curtail any opposition the public may have against their projects and the massive destruction they cause to our environment.  BC is power secure, site c is unnecessary and it's costs will reach far into the future. 

The use and threat of SLAPP suits is used by corporations in an attempt to stop any and all actions employed by the people opposed to them, they should be illegal. The BC government has a bill before the legislature to stop this act of intimidation, but it will not be retroactive. That means that any existing SLAPP suits will remain and this $460 million will continue to hang over the lives of these people for the rest of their lives. BC Hydro MUST drop this intimidating SLAPP suit IMMEDIATELY.