Apparently the Central American country of Belize still has an appeal to the British Pricy Council, the highest court of appeal in the Commonwealth. Canada ditched its links there before WWII, sometime after it declared women persons. Sensible lot.   We now know Belize retains that path of appeal to London as it now seems like the power supplier to Newfoundland, PEI and a few local areas in Ontario, Fortis Inc., is having its day or two in the Privy Council, care of a group of non-profits down Belize way called Bacongo, to explain the process taken by Fortis in its damming of a river in the rainforest. You would think this would make big news here with the CBC's interest in... the former projects of Sting. Not a blip. [There is even a website against this development - Stop Fortis! If that doesn't count for something what does?  At least it is not fortissucks.com.   That would be really bad.]   BBC states:

Bacongo says the environmental impact assessment of the dam, completed by the London firm Amec, was seriously flawed. It plans to tell the council:

• the agreement between the government of Belize and Fortis could drive up the cost of electricity
• Amec wrongly identified the rock at the dam site as granite, although it is softer sandstone and shale
• fault lines near the dam site were removed from maps submitted to the government
• Amec's hydrological studies of the Macal were inadequate: at the height of the wet season the river's entire flow, Bacongo says, fitted in four small pipes.

The Upper Macal [Ed.: site of the dam] is home to a number of rare and endangered species, including the tapir, the national animal of Belize.

Amazing stuff for a story which has not gained the attention of our national or local news services.   We are so needy and fawning when others say nice things about us. Far too fawning. But when they say bad things, we are like the clam with a padlock on it, surely an image worthy of a Celine Dion song.  

Whatever the facts, I am sure the Lords of the Privy Council shall uphold the right.   By the way, they have never done any environmental cases before.   Gives you a good feeling about the whole thing, doesn't it.

Later:  Well, it made the CBC radio news this morning because CIDA, the Cnadaidian International Development Agency, (aka the Federal Government) paid for the environmental impact study...for a profitable company working in another country.   Corporate welfare bummery.