The Columbia River Treaty, which will be re-negotiated in 2014, will be a major national, provincial, and local issue that a war or environmental disaster notwithstanding, will dominate the national news.
New issues this time around will be dictated by environmental changes and the world thirst for potable water.
This treaty stands in importance with NAFTA (North American Free Agreement) and the others that our governments have negotiated.
I wonder how many of us in the Kootenay have sufficient knowledge of the terms and protocols of the current treaty to make intelligent assessments of what it means for us in terms of benefits and what it’s costing us in terms of national sovereignty?
As Nelson city councillor Deb Kozak has said, the community must educate itself.
The provincial government promises public consultation, but meaningful discourse requires an educated public.
I dare say that there are few residents left in the affected areas who witnessed the treaty in the making in the 1960s. Some of those people were also those who saw their homes and livelihoods inundated in the damming of the rivers and lakes that feed into the Columbia River.
The year 2014 will be upon us in the blink of an eye.
I would suggest that we all take this issue as seriously as food security, the environment and our other social issues.
I would like to see the Nelson Star take a lead in this matter by publishing a series of articles highlighting the factors leading to and during negotiations of the current treaty and what the upcoming one might look like.
Michael Freund
North Shore