Something's fishy about Buffalo Lake diversion

THE SECOND FRONT CALGARY HERALD Wed., June 26,1991 A3 Something's fishy about Buffalo Lake diversion • Klein will have to wear the horns if environment suffers EDMONTON Buffalo Lake will rise, and we will never smell fishier timing i f they stock the thing with ripe sardines. The news conference to announce approval of the water diversion near Premier Don Getty's land was held at the most dubious time possible. It happened at 3 p. m. Tuesday, sev­eral blocks from the legislature, in the middle of Question Period on the final day of the session, with the premier OPINION Don Braid 3 Herald columnist L working extremely hard in Paris, France. Today there will be no forum for op­position leaders to ask questions, and the premier is hardly likely to be dis­tracted from his heavy schedule of ex­ceptionally important meetings. Did we mention that he is in Paris, France? Don Thorne, the former Lacombe mayor who chaired the review panel, said during the Buffalo Lake hearings that the report would be ready no later than June 17. It arrived June 25, just as the session petered out. Whatever the reasons for the delay, doubt wasn't among them. The three-member panel decided unequivocally that the project should go ahead. They listed 43 previous studies of the idea, but were undeterred by the doubts ex­pressed in any of them. Thorne allowed that " there will be a positive impact on economic develop­ment, lakewise." There will also be an undeniable benefit for Getty's fortunes in Stettler, electionwise. The project is extremely popular in the area. The hearings were amazing for their enthusiasm and lack of opposi­tion. At one point, after environment de­partment officials gave an upbeat ap­praisal, Thorne urged the crowd to re­ward them with a round of applause, and the locals obliged. The panel certainly reflected the feelings of local residents, and for that reason the approval is probably justi­fied. It would hardly be fair i f province-wide suspicions about politics killed a project most people i n the area want. It should be clear, too, that this wa­ter diversion is far from an ecological disaster. There have been mixed opinions about this for years, but Ralph Klein's people now say it's resonable. If any­thing goes wrong, Klein will have to an­swer for the mistake. It's probably true, too, that i f the project happened in any other riding it would probably get very little public at­tention. But there's now a fixed public im­pression that this project is going ahead because Getty wanted it. And he will benefit as much as other area land­holders from any increase in property values, as Thorne conceded Tuesday. In law, there's nothing whatever wrong with this. Politically, it's as foolish as Tuesday's fishy timing.