Site C doc has broadcast premiere

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

A new documentary about a local First Nation’s fight and protest against the Site C dam will have its broadcast premiere on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network last week.

Wochiigii lo: End of the Peace first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2021 and aired on APTN on Feb. 8, according to a news release.

Haida filmmaker Heather Hatch and her crew worked on the film for five years, which focuses on the construction of the $16-billion dam project on the Peace River at Fort St. John, and the impacts of land development on treaty rights and indigenous identity in the region.

The 85-minute documentary features a cast of local characters, though primarily centres around West Moberly Chief Roland Willson and Diane Abel, a West Moberly resident and grandmother, in their efforts stop the dam’s construction.

“In making Wochiigii lo: End of the Peace, I sought to docu- ment juxtapositions that exist within our country – and how those contradictions impact Indigenous lives,” Hatch, who also wrote and helped produce the film, said in a statement.

“I wanted audiences to see a powerful testimony bearing witness to an epic political and activist struggle that many Canadians know little about, beyond scattered headlines, and getting this story onto APTN allows this story to reach more people, which is the goal of social justice.” paigns supporting the convoy were forcibly shut down and the money frozen; donor lists were hacked and leaked by the mainstream press; and riot police were brought in to arrest and chase away protesters under the controversial firstever use of the federal Emergencies Act by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Construction of the earthfill dam at Site C is now around 90% complete, and the project more than 70% built overall. Last month, BC Hydro president Chris O’Riley told the BC Natural Resource Forum that the official target for commissioning is still nearly two years away. However, he suggested the company could potentially generate first power in December of this year.

Wochiigii lo: End of the Peace continues to make the rounds on the festival circuit, with an upcoming screening also planned in Vancouver at the 2023 KDocsFF social justice film festival on Feb. 23.

While the documentary touches on some controversial aspects of the protest, such as the so-called MOU to overthrow the Trudeau government by some hangerson, and where the frozen and seized donations went, Haab says most of the film is focused on telling the individual stories of protesters, and to weigh them against what Canadians were shown through the mainstream media.

Haab says he was taken aback by how many regular everyday citizens wanted to share their voices, and who trusted him with it, once they understood his reasoning for making the film. The documentary also features interviews with Tamara Lich, as well as former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford, an influential critic of government vaccine mandates and supporter of the convoy.

“He’s the last living signatory on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, so if anyone is going know how it’s being violated, he was the only person really, in my mind, that could actually validate whether or not it was being encroached upon or not,” said Haab.

“There were big names that were wanting to have their voices heard and lent to this movement because it’s sparked something globally,” he added. “Canada is known as the nice, no-ruffled-feathers type of country, and to sort of spark something like this globally took a lot.”

Haab says he titled the documentary Unacceptable? with a question mark, and with the words “un” and “acceptable” splintered by a maple leaf, for a reason.

“It’s pretty clear what the messaging was, what was actually truthful, and what was actually being shown to the rest of the world through the mainstream media,” said Haab. “My hope is that people leave the theatre with a few more questions than answers.”

Haab has already sold out five screenings locally. Coming up, the film makes its premiere in Calgary on Feb. 19, and in Victoria at the end of March.

He’s been getting requests from across Canada for screenings in Manitoba, small town and big city Ontario, including Toronto and Ottawa, as well as places like Grande Prairie and Quebec City. He plans to tweak the film as it makes its way across the nation and then submit it for festival consideration.

“It just grew like wildfire and it’s coming on heels of one year anniversary of convoy, so it’s a little bit symbolic,” said Haab.

“We went for a five-minute, little explainer piece of what we experienced, and it turned into something far greater than we could have imagined.”

It’saBoy!

DECLAN KENNETH BLAZE COOK

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Date: February02,2023

Hometown: FortSt.John,BC

Drop off or mail your FREE birth announcement to : The Alaska Highway News, 9916-98 St • Fort St. John • V1J 3T8 or email: compose@ahnfsj.ca

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CRANE FIRE — No injuries were reported in a fiery accident that closed the Alaska Highway on Monday morning, Feb. 6. The crane truck

Site C counts 4,476 workers

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

The workforce at Site C dam fell to 4,476 workers in December as construction entered the winter season, according to the latest employment figures from BC Hydro.

The jobs count was down 762 workers from November, and down from a record 5,554 workers counted at the $16-billion project in October.

Of the total December workforce, just over 17% were local, with 788 Peace region residents employed by construction and non-construction contractors.

There were 3,088 B.C. residents, or 69% of the workforce, working for con-

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FEBRUARY 18 Dr. Dre, Rapper (58) struction and non-construction contractors, and in engineering and project team jobs, according to the report.

BC Hydro reported 166 apprentices for the month, down from 197 in November, as well as 312 indigenous workers and 459 women working on the project.

There were no temporary foreign workers employed in a specialized position, according to BC Hydro, with 28 managers and other professionals working under the federal international mobility program.

The last of six turbine runners built for the dam arrived on site earlier this month, with the first unit already installed in the powerhouse.

Homicide charges in Kwadacha

Two men have been charged in connection with a pair of recent homicides in Kwadacha.

Delmar Roland Smaaslet-Boya faces a count of manslaughter from a January 8 incident and Brent Angus McCook has been charged with second-degree murder in relation to a January 23 death, Prosecution Service spokesperson Dan McLaughlin said.

In an email to the Citizen, North District RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson said both incidents involved individuals in domestic relationships.

“The community is in the healing process and the RCMP are working closely with community leaders,” Saunderson said. “There is no further risk to the public.”

Kwadacha, also known as Fort Ware, is a community of about 270 people north of Williston Lake. Kwadacha Nation community leaders were not immediately available for comment.

Manslaughter implies the perpetrator did not intend to kill the victim and second-degree murder implies the act was carried out on impulse rather than having been planned.

—Prince George Citizen

Two men wanted on warrants

Fort St. John police are asking the public for help finding two men wanted for a range of various offences.

Brandon Lambert, 39, is wanted for theft under $5000, possession of breakin instruments, and break and enter, according to police. He described as a Caucasian male standing five-feetsix-inches with brown hair and hazel eyes. He has tattoos of a beer bottle, star shape, and skull and cross bones on his right arm, according to police. RCMP say he was last known to be in Prince George and has ties to the Peace region.

Brandon Miskenack, 30, is wanted for assault with a weapon, assault, two counts of breaching release orders, and driving while prohibited, according to police. He is described as an indigenous man standing five-feet-eleven-inches and having black hair and brown eyes. He has a tattoo saying “life is a gamble” on his left hand, according to police, as well as tattooed writing of “Kaelyna Miskenack” on his right forearm, and a tattooed star shape on his right hand.

Anyone with information on any of the individuals is asked to call RCMP at 250- 787-8100. Anonymous tips can be made via Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-TIPS, or online at www.northernbccrimestoppers.ca.