Northgate

The Kemess North Mine Joint Review Panel has concluded that the mine "in its present form" would not be in the public interest. The Panel says that any economic and social benefits from the project are outweighed by its long-term risks to the environment and by its social and cultural impacts on Aboriginal people. It has recommended to federal and provincial environment Ministers that the project not be permitted.

MiningWatch Canada presented our findings to the Kemess North Mine Environmental Assessment Joint Review Panel on November 22, 2006, concluding that the Panel "has no choice but to find that the Kemess North Mine project poses serious environmental effects which cannot be mitigated and that are not justified under the circumstances."

The Tse Keh Nay (Takla, Tsay Keh Dene, and Kwadacha First Nations) have called on the Prime Minister and Premier of B.C. to involve First Nations more substantively in decisions about mining developments. In a letter to the Prime Minister and Premier, they say they will participate in the joint Federal-Provincial Panel on the proposed Kemess North Mine, in Tse Keh Nay Territory, B.C., but it will be under protest.

The amended Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMERs) have been published in the Canada Gazette Part One, and the public comment period has closed. They will become final when published in the Canada Gazette Part Two.

One of the amendments to the MMERs adds two lakes in Newfoundland to Schedule 2, which redefines them as mine waste dumps (for environmentally toxic tailings). Both lakes currently provide habitat for trout and Atlantic salmon as well as otter and other species.