VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 29 (Reuters) - A court has dismissed a lawsuit over power sales by Alcan Inc. on Canada's Pacific Coast in a ruling the big aluminum firm said on Thursday will aid plans to upgrade its Kitimat, British Columbia, smelter.
A 1950 deal between Alcan and the province British Columbia did not restrict it from selling power from the massive Kemano hydro-electric facility, or specify production levels for the related smelter, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled Wednesday.
The judge tossed out a lawsuit by the District of Kitimat that sought to force the province to curb power sales from Kemano. District officials argued the outside sales were allowing Alcan to cut jobs at the smelter.
The provincial court had earlier rejected a lawsuit by Kitimat against Alcan over the power sales.
The world's second largest aluminum producer said it was encouraged by the ruling and called on district leaders to work with it to improve the area's economy.
Kitimat, a city of about 12,000 on British Columbia's northwest coast, is about 1,400 km (880 miles) from Vancouver and was founded because of the Alcan smelter.
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