British Columbia

Joint news release with Ecojustice and Great Lakes United: New data released Friday in response to a lawsuit won last year by Ecojustice, on behalf of Great Lakes United and MiningWatch Canada, is beginning to shine a light on the toxic legacy of Canada's mining and tar sands industries. Unfortunately, despite a lawsuit and a government order to report pollutant releases, some facilities have failed to comply.

Tsilhqot'in National Government news release: The Tsilhqot'in National Government today welcomed the pledge by the Assembly of First Nations’ Chiefs-in Assembly to “stand behind the Tsilhqot’in Nation in defence of these lands regardless of the decision made by the Federal Government.”

On July 2, sixty days after the end of six weeks of public hearings, the federal review panel examining the proposed Prosperity Gold Copper Mine released its report. We were very pleased to see many of our concerns, as well as those of the Tsilhqot’in and Secwepemc Nations, Williams Lake Council of Canadians, Friends of Nemiah Valley, Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society and others were reflected in the report, which concluded that "the Project would result in significant adverse environmental effects on fish and fish habitat, on navigation, on the current use of lands and resources for traditional purposes by First Nations and on cultural heritage, and on certain potential or established Aboriginal rights or title."

Open Letter to the Honourable James Prentice, Minister of the Environment, and the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada: I write urging you to accept the findings of the Federal Panel Review on the Prosperity Mine in British Columbia, and refuse to issue any federal permits for the mine. The independently-constituted Federal Panel found that the proposed Prosperity Mine will destroy an entire watershed and irretrievably damage the way of life of the Tsilhqot'in and Secwepemc peoples. The mine's approval will make a mockery of the apology your government made to Aboriginal peoples, and will threaten the already tenuous relationship that the BC government has built with First Nations.

The Federal Environmental Assessment Panel examining the proposed Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine released its findings today. The open pit mine, proposed by Taseko Mines Ltd. would exploit a large but low-grade gold-copper deposit in the territory of the Tsilhqot’in Nation, 125 km west of Williams Lake BC. Like the provincial environmental assessment process, the federal Panel found the project would have significant negative environmental effects.

Joint news release with Ecojustice and the Canadian Environmental Law Association: Ottawa, ON – Today, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Canadian government has violated a national environmental law aimed at ensuring sustainable development. In a case centered on the proposed Red Chris mine in British Columbia, the Court ruled that the federal government cannot split projects into artificially small parts to avoid rigorous environmental assessments. The ruling also guarantees that the public will be consulted about major industrial projects, including large metal mines and tar sands developments.

In February, an independent committee awarded MiningWatch $37,200 to participate in the environmental assessment of Taseko Mines’ proposed Prosperity Gold and Copper Mine. The project area is 125 km south west of Williams Lake BC and within the traditional territory of the Xeni Gwet’in, members of the Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG).

In recent reviews of two proposed BC mining projects, MiningWatch Canada has found significant flaws in plans to compensate for fish habitat that would be lost if the mines go into operation. Both the Mt. Milligan and Prosperity projects will negatively affect fish habitats and the proponents will be required to compensate for these impacts by creating or improving fish habitat elsewhere.

Taseko Mines Ltd. is proposing to construct a massive open-pit copper and gold mine in the heart of Tsilhqot’in Territory, 125 km west of Williams Lake BC. Information about the project, critiques of the Environmental Assessment, and the film Blue Gold by Raven Trust are available here.