Private Power company Plutonic Power came under the scrutiny of a skeptical and untrusting public at Open Houses on the Sunshine Coast this week.

With hundreds of citizens coming out to the Open Houses to discuss Plutonic’s plans to build 17 dams in the pristine Bute Inlet, the company, which is bankrolled by General Electric, was attacked for the environmental, social, and economic consequences that their projects entail.

In Sechelt on Wednesday night there was not a single speaker among the hundreds in attendance who spoke in favour of the project. The previous night in Powell River saw a crowd of over 250 with the vast majority of speakers expressing opposition, skepticism, and outrage at Plutonic’s plans.

In signs that Plutonic is getting increasingly nervous and edgy, they have even turned to intimidation and surveillance of those who attend the public meetings. Following the Powell River meetings, Plutonic’s Communications Director Elisha McCallum (formerly Elisha Moreno) was videotaping all individuals who asked questions of CEO Donald McInnes.

Several people in attendance had seen tactics like this employed before, such as by private security guards during labour action, strikes, and during other public protests and actions. It is a well worn tactic of surveillance and intimidation used when desperation sets in.

Plutonic was asked to stop taking this surveillance by one of the questioners, and neither McInnes nor McCallum responded to this request.

In further signs of frayed nerves from Plutonic, CEO McInnes was visibly irate and testy with several questions, and grew increasingly short and snippy in his answers.

Plutonic currently has one more Open House to sit through, scheduled for Monday February 2 in Campbell River.

There is increasing pressure to hold more Open Houses, particularly in population centres such as Vancouver and Victoria. To add your voice to this call, email the Environmental Assessment Project Director at Kathy.Eichenberger@gov.bc.ca.

The meeting in Campbell River will take place on Monday February 2.

Details:

Quinsam Centre
2005 Eagle Drive, Campbell River
Monday, February 2, 2009
4:00 pm to 8:00 pm