You can learn more about progress on the Columbia River Treaty negotiations at a pair of info sessions in the coming weeks.
The B.C. government said the sessions will be focused on the Local Governments Committee’s efforts to integrate social and economic goals into the modernized treaty.
“As Canada and the United States continue negotiations to modernize the Treaty, the Canadian negotiating team, which includes Canada, B.C., and the Ktunaxa, Secwepemc, and Syilx Okanagan Nations, is exploring different ways of operating the Canadian Treaty dams to support domestic objectives for ecosystems, Indigenous cultural values, and socio-economic interests, in addition to enabling power generation and protection from damaging floods,” said government officials.
The Columbia River Treaty Local Governments Committee is looking to identify what they feel is important to integrate into negotiations.
“Socio-economic interests that are impacted by reservoir levels and river flows, such as flood risk management, navigation, recreation, tourism, dust generation and others are very important to communities,” said the Columbia River Treaty Local Governments Committee. “Performance measures describing the required and preferred reservoir elevations and flow levels for these interests are being defined.”
You can learn more about the negotiations at a pair of info sessions with different details highlighted at each one.
The first will go ahead on Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. Pacific time, with a focus on Columbia River interests while the second will happen at 6 p.m. Pacific Time with a spotlight on Kootenay River interests.
Both sessions will happen over Zoom, with an option to phone in.
Recordings will be available afterwards for those who cannot attend live.
Registration links can be found below.