Actually, this land has tons of potential. When I worked for the Richmond Food Security Society I met many farmers, agrologists and food policy experts, including Harold Steves, a longtime Richmond city councillor (and farmer himself) who all  said it would be terrible to lose the Peace Valley. 

Peace Valley’s “extraordinary” farmland could feed a million people, agrologists tell Site C Dam review
http://commonsensecanadian.ca/peace-valleys-extraordinary-agricultural-values-threatened-site-c-dam/

"A pair of highly-respected agricultural experts made a compelling case this week for sparing some of BC’s best farmland from a proposed dam on the Peace River. Together, veteran agrologist Wendy Holm and soil scientist Evelyn Wolterson argued that BC Hydro’s error-ridden study of the flood zone for the $10 billion proposed Site C Dam missed the unique soil and climate values that would enable this land to feed up to a million people – were the focus to shift from hydropower to farming."