About Breaching the Peace

Breaching the Peace: The Site C Dam and a Valley’s Stand Against Big Hydro tells the inspiring and astonishing story of the farmers and First Nations who fought the most expensive hydro dam project in Canada’s history and the lack of due process that allowed a dam to be constructed on unstable ground in an area of rich biodiversity and cultural significance.

In 2010, the B.C. government announced its plan to build a third hydroelectric dam on the Peace River and changed the law to allow the publicly funded project to proceed. Although the Site C dam would eventually cost at least $16 billion and would destroy land of great ecological value and significance to Treaty 8 First Nations, successive premiers of all political stripes insisted the project was necessary to generate jobs and clean energy.

Starting in 2013, Sarah travelled to the Peace River Valley to talk to locals about what was really at stake. This powerful work of public interest journalism reveals the Site C dam’s true costs from the perspective of those trying to stop the wholesale destruction of their land and their way of life. In frank and moving prose, Sarah weaves the personal stories of expropriated farmers such as Ken and Arlene Boon and First Nations leaders such as Roland Willson into a stunning exposé of Big Hydro and its power to erode our land, our rights, and our ability to embrace (and afford) alternative clean energy sources.

This modern-day David-and-Goliath story stands as a much-needed cautionary tale during an era when concerns about global warming have helped justify a renaissance of environmentally irresponsible hydro megaprojects around the world.

Praise for Breaching the Peace

“With beautiful writing and compelling storytelling, Sarah Cox brings us to the Indigenous territories and backyards of farmers on the frontlines of the fight to stop the construction of a hydroelectric dam in northern British Columbia. Breaching the Peace explores some of Canada’s most critical contemporary issues — climate change, renewable energy, Indigenous issues, and property rights … This is the gripping and extraordinary story of a community resisting a powerful Crown corporation to protect the Peace Valley.”

— 2019 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing Jury (André Picard, Angela Sterritt, and Chris Turner)

“[This is] a breathtaking examination of how Site C was rammed through despite its devastating impacts on public finances and an ecological treasure trove … Cox delivers science journalism of the highest order, presented with passionate intensity and relentless curiosity.”

— Charlie Smith, The Georgia Straight

“Environmental journalist Cox presents a well-researched, accessible history of the Site C dam, a British Columbia project that’s drawn international attention for pork barrel politics, violations of First Nations rights, and threats to the ecosystem in the Peace River Valley. With energetic prose and extensive on-the-ground reporting, Cox profiles the people and issues behind the divisive project.”

— Publishers Weekly

“With painstaking research and an even hand, Sarah Cox brings to life BC’s northern heartland of the Peace River Valley, a place and people few Canadians know. In so doing, she exposes hard truths about the tenuous rights of citizens – settler and First Nations alike – as they confront our government’s bare-knuckle ambitions for industrial resource development. This is a necessary book, truly a parable for our time.”

— John Vaillant, author of The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed and The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival

“Sarah Cox has written a great book. Not only does she provide searing insight into how Site C developed, she does so through the eyes of the people most affected by it. A must-read for anyone interested in policy, politics, and people.”

— Marc Eliesen, former president and CEO of BC Hydro, former chair and CEO of Ontario Hydro, and former chair of Manitoba Hydro

“Sarah Cox has written a searing new book about the scandalous Site C Dam in British Columbia … [she] expertly provides the context to the Site C saga that allows readers to understand what has happened here. Few people, except those who stand to profit immensely, have ever been enthusiastic about this project.”

— Michael Harris, iPolitics

“This long-overdue and excellent book illustrates how money and politics can override concerns about sustainability and the very real spiritual and emotional values that bind us to place. Read this book to understand why Indigenous people and farmers are fighting together to protect their place on the planet.”

— David Suzuki, award-winning scientist, environmentalist, and broadcaster