Muskrat Falls protests ramp up as flooding set to begin in swath of Labrador
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Long-standing protests over the Muskrat Falls hydro project are escalating — including nine arrests Monday, a march on the provincial legislature and a hunger strike — as reservoir flooding in Labrador is set to start.
“You can’t do this to people. This is still Canada,” said Denise Cole of Goose Bay. She helped organize a peaceful protest followed by a sit-in that temporarily limited public access to the legislature in St. John’s.
At issue are concerns raised by Harvard University researchers that the flooding as part of dam and powerhouse construction may contaminate fish and other wild foods with methylmercury.
The resulting reservoir will cover an area of about 41 square kilometres near Happy Valley-Goose Bay. It will also be upstream from 2,000 Inuit in the Lake Melville region who rely on fish and seal meat.