Residents call pipeline offer a bribe

SWEETEN THE POT: B.C. Hydro won't comment on suggestions they've offered signing bonuses to affected property owners

JENNIFER McLARTY
staff reporter
The Pictorial, Duncan, Sunday, October 15, 2000

Property owners who could be affected by the proposed Georgia Strait Crossing Project are being offered signing bonuses from B.C. Hydro, say concerned residents.

"Let's call it what it is. It's a bribe," said Dave Thomson, who knows of two landholders who've been approached by the Crown corporation. "It's a verbal thing. They're offering a $2,500 signing bonus if people will negotiate in good faith."

Dodi Miller - a Cobble Hill resident and opponent of the pipeline - said she also knows of people who've been contacted by B.C. Hydro, and that they've been offered money to settle quietly.

"It's absolutely true," she told The News Leader/Pictorial Friday. "They're trying to get a jump on things."

B.C. Hydro spokesperson Ted Olynk wouldn't comment on the alleged $2,500 bonuses, saying property negotiations are a confidential matter between the corporation and individual landowners.

He did say, however, that B.C. Hydro is still "developing a process" on how land acquisitions will take place if the project is approved by the National Energy Board and an independent panel established under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

"Nothing has been finalized," said Olynk.

If approved, the $180 million project would impact 22 properties between Hatch Point - where the pipeline would come ashore after crossing Georgia Strait from Sumas Washington - and travel to an existing Centra Gas transmission system west of Shawnigan Lake.

The Georgia Strait Crossing Project is a joint proposal between B.C. Hydro and U.S.-based Williams Gas. It will bring natural gas to Vancouver Island, in order to fuel three planned cogeneration plants in Campbell River, Port Alberni and possibly Duncan.