By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Hydroelectric dams on public lands are at growing risk of failure because the department responsible for them has no engineers, inadequate funding and no safety rules, an internal document warns. The document, obtained by Canada’s National Observer through an Access to Information and Privacy request, calls the state of affairs “unsustainable” at the Ministry for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), and cautions the federal government could face legal liability if any dams fail. The federal government is responsible for water power development on Crown lands under the Dominion Water Power Act, passed in 1919. The department operates four hydroelectric sites under the act: Rideau Falls at the mouth of Ottawa’s Rideau River; Kananaskis Falls and Horseshoe Falls, two…
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