A River Shared

Storylines

In 1961, Canada and the U.S. signed a treaty to co-manage the Columbia — a cross-border river that flows from B.C. through to the Oregon coast. Entire valleys were flooded and more than 2,000 people relocated to accommodate the fourteen new dams along the river’s main course. The Columbia River Treaty has generated billions of dollars for the governments of both countries and the hydroelectric industry. It has also meant lost farmland, lost homes, and lost ways of life… And critics argue it's given Americans unfair control over Canadian waters. Now, for the first time in more than half a century, the treaty is being renegotiated. Veteran journalist and Okanagan local Bob Keating is there.