News Fish Lake

Ottawa - The Council of Canadians and MiningWatch Canada are calling on the federal cabinet to reject a proposed open-pit gold and copper mine which would destroy a pristine lake and contaminate nearby bodies of water.

The Harper government is expected to decide on the fate of Fish Lake in British Columbia as soon as next Friday.

On Tuesday September 7 at 11 am, the groups will deliver a petition with more than 10,000 signatures from across the country to the federal government in Ottawa.

"Lakes and rivers should not be used as private garbage dumps for mining companies," says Maude Barlow, chairperson of the Council of Canadians.

The Tsilhqot'in National Government, backed by the Assembly of First Nations, opposes the destruction of Fish Lake, which is of profound cultural and spiritual significance to its people. It has said that if the federal cabinet does not listen to its own federal review panel which found that the mine would have 'significant adverse environmental effects', it will continue to take action to protect the lake, including blocking the access roads to the lake.

"We will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Tsilhqot'in to protect this lake," vows Barlow. "The federal government would be wise to heed the federal review panel findings and shut down this mine proposal entirely or it will face huge resistance in British Columbia and across Canada."

"Taseko's proposal to use natural bodies of water as tailings ponds is permitted by a loophole in the Fisheries Act called Schedule 2," says Ramsey Hart of MiningWatch. "Once placed on Schedule 2, lakes and rivers lose the protections normally required under federal law."

The federal review panel's recommendations serve to strengthen a legal challenge against Schedule 2, which argues that it is illegal for the federal government to allow the dumping of mining waste into Canadian lakes and rivers. The case is expected to be heard by the Federal Court this fall.

"Canada is one of the few countries in the world where mining companies are allowed to dump their tailings directly into lakes and rivers," says Meera Karunananthan, water campaigner for the Council of Canadians. "Schedule 2 remains a threat to all lakes in Canada and must be eliminated. In the meantime, the cabinet must do the right thing and save Fish Lake from destruction."
 

Wendy Stueck and Bill Curry (CTV News)

Ramping up pressure on the federal government, native leaders on Thursday expressed fierce opposition to a proposed copper-gold mine in the British Columbia Interior and warned of violent consequences if the project is approved.

“Our people are willing and ready to defend our lands,” Tsilhqot'in Nation Chief Marilyn Baptiste said Thursday at a news conference in Ottawa. “As one of my elders had said when we were going through the panel hearings – she will be there on the road in her wheelchair. She will have her shotguns and she will not move.”

Ms. Baptiste said she and others will risk their lives to block the $800-million Prosperity project, which would destroy two lakes that hold about 90,000 rainbow trout, a food source for local bands, and replace them with an artificial lake that would have far fewer fish.

The B.C. government has already approved the project. But in July, a federal review panel ruled the mine would have “significant adverse environmental effects,” leaving the final decision up to cabinet.

“We are willing to sacrifice our lives,” Ms. Baptiste said. “I am willing to sacrifice my life for the sake of saving our lands and our future generations. Through the panel hearings, there were several people who made the same statement.”

Other native groups, including the more than 600-strong Assembly of First Nations and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, have thrown their weight behind the six-band Tsilhqot'in Nation in opposing the mine. The heated standoff is in stark contrast to two landmark deals announced last month that featured, for the first time in the province, revenue-sharing between first nations and the B.C. government on two mine projects.

Such an agreement would be on the table if the Prosperity mine were to proceed, but to date, local first nations have shown no interest in pursuing one, said Randy Hawes, B.C.'s Minister of State for Mining.

“We have made it clear that we are prepared, if the mine were to go ahead, that there would be revenue-sharing agreements,” Mr. Hawes said. “Tens of millions of dollars would flow directly to the Tsilhqot'in Nation, but so far, the answer is no.”

The Prosperity project, being developed by Vancouver-based Taseko Mines Ltd., would be located about 25 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake in an area devastated by a mountain pine beetle infestation and the sluggish demand for forestry products. In supporting the project, the B.C. government has cited $5-billion worth of economic activity over a 20-year life of the mine and $600-million worth of revenue for various governments.

Mine opponents, including a coalition of 12 environmental groups, says cabinet should heed the federal environmental review.

“When a panel issues an opinion that's as strong as the one on Fish Lake – one that says there will be significant environmental impact, and it cannot be mitigated – nobody that I know of can recall a single time when the federal government has proceeded in the face of a finding like that,” said Sierra Club B.C. executive director George Heyman. “It would set the kind of precedent that would call the whole federal environmental process into question.”

In 2008, a similar mine proposal was shelved after the federal and B.C. governments accepted the decision of a joint provincial-federal review.

Taseko president and chief executive officer Russell Hallbauer said on Thursday that Ms. Baptiste's comments were “unfortunate.”

“I don't know what more we can say – we have done what is required under the laws of the land, both provincially and federally. We are confident in that proposal,” said Mr. Hallbauer, adding that the company had considered several other alternatives to mine construction that didn't involve destroying Fish Lake, but none were workable.
 

Final Decision Pending on Fate of B.C. Lake Sacred to First Nations
Vancouver, BC, September 2, 2010 — Twelve environmental groups are calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to save Fish Lake, home to 80,000 rainbow trout and sacred to the Tsilhqot’in First Nations. The groups are urging the federal government to heed the findings of its environmental assessment review panel and reject a proposed gold and copper mine that would destroy Fish Lake.
Despite First Nations opposition, Taseko Mines Ltd. plans to drain Fish Lake in central B.C. in order to access a gold and copper deposit and make room for a waste rock dump and toxic tailings. The proposed “Prosperity” open-pit mine is on the traditional lands of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation, a member of the Tsilhqot’in National Government, which won a court case recognizing its rights to the area.
The B.C. government issued a 25-year-mining lease to Taseko in June of this year. The following month, a federal environmental review panel reported that Taseko’s proposed mine would have significant adverse effects on the environment – including to fish stocks and grizzly populations – and on First Nations rights and title.
“We’re calling on the federal cabinet and Prime Minister Harper to respect the federal panel report which highlights the multiple adverse effects of this proposal, including impacts on First Nations rights and title,” said Larry Innes, Executive Director of the Canadian Boreal Initiative. “Failure to honour these findings will not only harm the land and people of the region, they will harm relations between industry and other communities in the future by seriously undermining public confidence in the review process.”
The Harper government is expected to announce a decision on Taseko’s application as early as September 10. If the mine gets federal cabinet approval, it would be the first time the government has ever overruled negative findings from a Canadian Environmental Assessment Act review.
“It boggles my mind that we would even consider the destruction of a world-class fishing lake that is of great significance to an indigenous community, and is surrounded by cultural sites including First Nations burial grounds,” said Sierra Club BC Executive Director George Heyman. “We must close the legislative loopholes that allow destruction of Canada’s freshwater bodies for toxic tailings.”
Changes to the federal Fisheries Act allow metal mining corporations to use Canadian destroy lakes in order to dispose of the millions of tones of waste rock and tailings they generate. Fish Lake would be Canada’s fifth pristine natural water body authorized for destruction under this loophole if cabinet ignores the findings of the environmental assessment review panel.
Groups supporting the Tsilhqot’in National Government and urging Prime Minister Harper to save Fish Lake include the Canadian Boreal Initiative, Sierra Club BC, West Coast Environmental Law, ForestEthics, Pembina Institute, Wilderness Committee, Greenpeace, BC Spaces for Nature, Georgia Straight Alliance, Sierra Club Canada, Wildsight and the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance.

Contact:
Suzanne Fraser, Canadian Boreal Initiative: (613) 552-7277
George Heyman, Executive Director, Sierra Club BC: (604) 312-6595
Sarah Cox, Communications Director, Sierra Club BC: (250) 812-1762

The Guardian

OTTAWA - First Nations in British Columbia are warning the federal government that they will stop at nothing to prevent a mining company from destroying a fishing lake to process copper and gold.

"This lake, as I've indicated, is fundamental to the Tsilhqot'in people. The destruction of this lake is not an option," said regional chief Jody Wilson-Raybould, on behalf of the Assembly of First Nations.

"We are here sitting, with unity of purpose," warned Wilson-Raybould, surrounded by other regional and local First Nations representatives.

The federal cabinet is expected to decide by next Friday whether it's worth sacrificing the health of Fish Lake in northern B.C. and other aspects of the local environment for the jobs that the $800-million Prosperity mine project promises to bring.

The First Nations groups are in Ottawa to lobby key federal ministers and explain their case to the public.

A recent federal review panel found that the project would impose "significant adverse environmental effects" on fish, fish habitat, grizzly bears and First Nations' use of the land for traditional purposes.

But the B.C. government approved the mine anyway — putting pressure on Ottawa to agree and give the project a final green light.

If Ottawa breaks with tradition and chooses economics over environment, First Nations groups say they will do whatever it takes to prevent work from going ahead — from lobbying and litigation to protest and even physical confrontation, if need be.

"Our people are willing and ready to defend our lands," said local Chief Marilyn Baptiste.

"As one of my elders had said when we were going through the panel hearings, she will be there on the road in her wheelchair. She will have her shotguns, and she will not miss."

She said her people fought off gold prospectors in the late 1800s and are prepared to do so again.

"We are willing to sacrifice our lives. I am willing to sacrifice my life for the sake of saving our lands and future generations," she said.

The local bands are backed by regional and national organizations as well as 12 environmental groups.

The B.C. government argues that Taseko Mines Ltd. should go ahead with the mine, partly because the economic benefits during the 20-year life of the mine would outweigh the environmental harm.

The provincial assessment predicted a $5-billion economic injection over the life of the mine, and $600 million in tax revenues for various governments.

The mine would be about 250 kilometres north of Vancouver in an area that has struggled to deal with the mountain pine beetle, the collapse of the forestry industry and low commodity prices.

Taseko says the mine is worth about $3 billion in today's terms.

The open-pit mine would use Fish Lake and Little Fish Lake as tailings ponds. The company would replace the destroyed lakes by an artificial lake, but the quantity of trout in that lake would be far, far lower than in the natural habitat.

While the federal environmental review does not specifically compel the federal cabinet to stop the Prosperity mine, Ottawa has traditionally respected the conclusions of environmental assessments, the First Nations groups argue.

"That report leaves the government legally, constitutionally and morally bound to reject this proposal," said Chief Perry Guichon of the Alexis Creek First Nation.

"Yet the province of B.C. and particularly the company proposing this mine, Taskeo Mines Ltd., have talked as if the federal approval was merely a formality and that approval would be quickly granted."

Indeed, the company's website states that it "fully expects final approval in September," and is planning to start major construction next spring.

 

By Josh Paterson rabble.ca | August 27, 2010

This mine would permanently destroy an area that is a place of worship for our people, a cultural school for our children, and a bread basket that has fed our people for centuries.

- Chief Marilyn Baptiste of the Tsilhqot'in

Should Canada allow mining companies to drain and kill pristine lakes?

Wilderness lakes are at the heart of Canadian identity, and most people are surprised and shocked when they hear that the Canadian government is considering giving the green light to several proposals to do just that.

One such project is Taseko Mines Ltd.'s proposed Prosperity Mine at Fish Lake in central British Columbia. The Tsilhqot'in Nation, the Friends of the Nemiah Valley and many others have been urging the federal government to reject the plan -- including the national gathering of chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations who recently joined the call.

Fish Lake is aptly named. Renowned for its 85,000 rainbow trout, the Tsilhqot'in people have fished, hunted, trapped here for centuries -- they regard Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) as a sacred place. Fish Lake is one of the best places to fish in the Cariboo/Chilcotin. Grizzly, moose, mule deer, long-billed curlew, flammulated owl and other wildlife depend upon the lake.

However, Taseko Mines Ltd. plans to drain Fish Lake. If this happens, up to 700 hundred million tons of tailings and waste material -- including toxic metals such as arsenic, mercury, lead, and cadmium -- would be dumped into new a tailings pond created by the flooding of Little Fish Lake and Upper Fish Creek.
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The impact of the Fish Lake proposal is grim. An independent expert review panel appointed by Ottawa recently panned the proposal. The expert panel concluded in its report in July that the mine proposal would:

• Create "high magnitude, long-term and irreversible effects" on fish, significant effects on grizzly bear, and other significant adverse environmental effects;

• Permanently destroy an important cultural and spiritual area used by the Tsilhqot'in people, and lead to long-term impacts on the physical and mental health of the Tsilhqot'in.

In many cases, the panel stated that it simply could not recommend mitigation measures for the severe damage it foresees.

This report is a remarkable finding, given that federal environmental assessments almost never turn down a project.

For example, a great many Alberta tar sands projects that seriously degrade the natural environment have received federal approval based on findings of no significant adverse environmental impacts, after mitigation.

In fact, in almost 20 years of assessments under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act -- including dozens and dozens of major projects -- only two previous Panels have found significant adverse environmental impacts (the Kemess North mine in B.C. -- which, like the Taseko Mine proposal would have converted a lake into a tailings pond -- and the Whites Point Quarry in Nova Scotia). Ottawa rejected the projects in both cases.

One would hope that precedent would be followed, and that the Fish Lake proposal would be turned down. However, there are troubling signs. When Ottawa appointed the Fish Lake Review Panel, it refused to authorize the panel to actually make a recommendation against the project.

A cynic might suggest that Ottawa was seeking to avoid a repeat of the Kemess North mine assessment, where the panel recommendation against a similar proposal made it politically impossible for Ottawa to approve the project.

It's just in the last decade that Ottawa changed the law to allow companies to dump mine waste into lakes. Four years ago, the Harper government approved destruction of two Newfoundland lakes, setting a dangerous precedent. Since then, mining corporations have applied to use 11 lakes as toxic dump sites.

Fish Lake and the other lakes across the country facing destruction raise fundamental questions about what we value as a society and what our laws should protect:

• Why do our laws even allow fish-bearing lakes to be converted into waste dumps for toxic tailings?

• How do we ensure that our government accurately evaluates the impacts of environmentally destructive projects and reject the most environmentally destructive projects?

• What priority do we place on cleaning up after ourselves and protecting our natural environment on which all life depends?

With the federal government seriously weakening environmental assessment in the budget that passed thismonth, and Parliament gearing up for a full-scale review of environmental assessment law in the Fall, Canadians need to answer these questions.

The survival of Fish Lake is an issue for all of us. In its decision about Fish Lake, Ottawa must heed its own independent expert review panel -- and reject the lake's destruction. But, equally importantly, Ottawa must amend the law so that fish-bearing lakes are off limits to mining companies looking for a place to dump their waste and maintain and strengthen Canada's environmental assessment laws so that the full impacts of environmentally destructive projects are fully evaluated.

Josh Paterson is a staff lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law, which provided financial support to the Tsilhqot'in National Government's legal effort to protect Fish Lake.

August 4, 2010, Victoria, BC: Any review of the economic impacts of the proposed Prosperity mine must be independent, public, and conducted according to accepted accounting methodology and practices, the president of RAVEN (Respecting Aboriginal Values & Environmental Needs) said today.

“If there is going to be a report going to the federal government from BC, all parties must be heard and all the facts must be aired and the findings must be impartial,” said David Williams.

“We fear however that this is not what energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Bill Bennett had in mind this week when he announce he was preparing a report on the mine’s economic benefits for the federal government in an attempt to secure its approval for the proposed mine,” Williams stated.

“Mr. Bennett’s comments indicate he has already decided that the report will simply back up all the claims the company has made, but it would be an abuse of public dollars if all British Columbians end up receiving is a fan letter for the mining company paid for with their taxes.”

The government’s track record is not encouraging. According to an analysis by Dr. Joan Kuyek, the revenue and other economic claims included in Taseko Mines Ltd’s feasibility studies were not produced independently. They were estimates produced by a Taseko vice president.

These company figures appear to have been accepted without question by the BC Environmental Assessment Office review. These claims have since been wrongly promoted as fact by Taseko and Mr. Bennett, who have ignored or arbitrarily dismissed detailed analysis that demonstrates the costs to British Columbians could dwarf and revenues generated by the mine.

The government and company, for example, claim that the company would pay the industrial rate to power the mine. However, paying the “industrial rate” means the mine would purchase its electricity at less than half the cost to BC Hydro of purchasing new power to meet the massive increased demand. Someone would have to pay this difference, which would be at least $35 million a year and likely considerably more. How much of this tab would residential consumers and other BC Hydro customers have to pick up?

There has also been no response to detailed analysis which brings into serious question the estimates provided by the company in terms of the jobs that would be created for the community, and the taxes and other revenues that would be generated, or of the economic costs that would be cause by the destruction to the environment.

“The government needs an independent analysis of the economic consequences of the project to British Columbians, including the very significant impact on BC Hydro and its customers,” said resource economist. Dr. Marvin Shaffer.

“Surely the government should be trying to give British Columbians all the facts – not a report edited to meet Mr. Bennett’s well publicized personal views. We therefore challenge the Premier to appoint an independent auditor, with clear terms of reference to hear from all parties and examine all the claims and data.”

Media contacts:
David Williams, RAVEN President: 250.592.1088, after Tuesday 250.935.6861
Dr. Marvin Shaffer: 604.787.1620

By Marvin Shaffer, Vancouver Sun July 31, 2010

Re: A future for Prosperity mine and B.C., July 27

A key question the federal government must address with respect to the proposed Prosperity mine project is whether the economic benefits of the mine would offset the destruction of Fish Lake and other adverse impacts its own environmental review panel concluded it would have.

There is no question that the mine would provide a welcome stimulus to the Williams Lake region, but it would also impose a significant cost on BC Hydro and, therefore, on British Columbians.

The mine needs a large amount of electricity, which means Hydro would have to buy or develop more power to meet the mine's requirements. Because the cost to Hydro to do this would be more than double what the mine would pay for the electricity it uses, Hydro would lose more than $35 million per year.

Proponents are correct that the mine would be paying Hydro's standard industrial rate, but that's the problem: The rate in B.C. does not begin to reflect the cost of new supply.

Marvin Shaffer Vancouver
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Chiefs warn BC Minister of Mines that no amount of money can compensate for devastating environmental and cultural impacts of the proposed Prosperity mine

July 30, 2010, Williams Lake – The Chiefs of the Tsilhqot’in Nation caution BC Minister of Mines Bill Bennett that no amount of money can compensate for the devastating impacts the proposed Prosperity mine would have on Tsilhqot’in traditional lands and culture.

This comes in response to Minister Bennett’s recently announced plan to make a “public offer” of revenue sharing to First Nations that would be impacted by the controversial Prosperity project – a proposed copper and gold mine that requires the permanent destruction of a lake considered sacred by the Tsilhqot’in people.

“Our culture cannot be bought,” said Chief Marilyn Baptiste. “The Minister still does not understand what is at stake for our people – we are fighting for our cultural survival. Our elders and our members say that the destruction of this area would be like tearing the heart out of our culture. It would be a poison that cannot be cured.”

In a strongly worded environmental assessment report issued earlier this month, an independent federal panel concluded that the project proposed by Taseko Mines Ltd. would have significant, high magnitude impacts on: productive fisheries, threatened grizzly bear populations, Tsilhqot’in traditional use and cultural heritage, and the Aboriginal rights of the Tsilhqot’in people. The panel cautioned that the mine would permanently destroy an “important cultural and spiritual area” for the Tsilhqot’in people and that impacts on “current use activities, ceremonies, teaching, and cultural and spiritual practices would be irreversible, of high magnitude and have a long-term effect on the Tsilhqot’in.”

The panel specifically noted that “First Nations frequently stated that financial benefits could not compensate for the destruction”.

“Our people have spoken and we have a duty to uphold,” said Chief Ivor Myers. “Our members came out 100 per cent united against this mine at the public hearings, despite all the talk of revenue sharing. If the Federal Government chose to approve the mine it would desecrate our sacred burial and ceremonial sites – as a Nation we simply cannot allow that to happen.”


“Our members want jobs like everyone else,” said Chief Percy Guichon. “We partner with industry, we support development and we’ve entered agreements with government. We are working to raise our quality of life. But we cannot create healthy communities by destroying the lands that sustain us. We will not create economic development at the loss of a sacred lake or at the cost of who we are as Tsilhqot’in people.”

Chief Frances Laceese noted that the Minister’s planned “public offer” to First Nations is typical of the disrespect the Tsilhqot’in people have seen from the provincial government and Taseko. “This isn’t a good faith effort to hear the outcry from our communities or to deal with our concerns. It’s a publicity stunt. They want to keep the public distracted from the true costs of this mine – environmental and cultural destruction on a scale beyond anything a federal panel has described in the past”.

Chief Joe Alphonse, Tribal Chair of the Tsilhqot’in National Government, dismissed the Minister’s plan to make a public offer to First Nations as “a desperate move by a desperate government trying to salvage a desperate mining company.”

“The Minister could not show any less concern for the environment or First Nations,” Chief Alphonse continued. “These are the most serious warnings of environmental and cultural damage ever issued by a federal panel, and the Minister completely ignores them. It’s full speed ahead. All he can talk about is the almighty dollar. If Taseko and the Minister still think they can ram this project through, they’re stuck in the dark ages. First Nations are lining up across the country to stand with us in defence of our lands and culture.”

Commitments of support for the Tsilhqot’in Nation have been issued from several First Nations in BC and Canada, and organizations like the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and the BC First Nations Summit. Last week, the Chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations passed a national resolution pledging their support for the Tsilhqot’in Nation and warning the federal government that approval for the project in light of the panel’s conclusions “would demonstrate utter disregard for the survival of First Nations as distinctive cultures within Canada.”

Media inquiries: Chief Joe Alphonse, Tribal Chair, TNG – 250.394.4212 (w); 250.394.4422 (h), 250.305.8282 (c).

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