Blasting near the Langford Lake Cave was scheduled to start Thursday at 9 am, but instead workers at the controversial interchange project got some time off.
A small crowd rallied on the Trans-Canada Highway while seven people and a dog occupied the Bear Mountain Interchange site for most of the morning. The action forced contractors to postpone blasting for an hour and a half while police negotiated with trespassing neighbours and local environmentalists. West Shore RCMP arrested one man for “mischief” and released him without charge. The rest were threatened with arrest and escorted out of the area, and around 11 am, the first explosions rocked the bluffs on the north side of the highway, 200 meters north of Langford Lake Cave.
Today’s delay likely cost the project thousands of dollars in extra wages for the blasting crew and security. A recent news report quoted Langford Mayor Stew Young as saying that even though the municipality hasn’t set up the funding for the interchange, developers had kicked in around $200,000. That’s why the work is going forward without financing. It remains to be seen how much work they can do for $200,000, especially if people keep interfering.
It also makes us wonder – if the developers are so flush with cash, why don’t they fund the project themselves? Why is Langford acting as the bagman and making taxpayers liable for this colossal mistake?
The Canadian legal system contains little or no protection for endangered species and First Nations heritage. Sites used for spiritual practice for generations, like the Langford Lake Cave, are routinely bulldozed and blacktopped. In British Columbia, an individual or group needs to prove legal standing in order to take a rogue developer – or a rogue municipality – to court.
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