To the Editor,
Regarding the July 9 city council meeting: am I the only one who finds it alarming that John Tapics of Compliance Coal, who was “in attendance to provide an update on the Raven Underground Coal Project”, presented the exact same presentation given at the chamber of commerce meeting more than a month ago? No updates. None.
Valley, wake up. Ask questions. Expect accountability. Demand answers. We have to, because it’s clear our council hasn’t.
And, even though he claims Compliance has conducted thousands of hours of environmental research, we still have no information from him regarding dredging, air quality, etc.
No updates. NONE.
His refusal to address citizens’ concerns highlights his disrespect for the Valley and its residents. He will not engage in a conversation with us. He doesn’t even possess enough respect for Valley citizens and our council to stay to the end of our council meetings.
If this is the face of Compliance Coal (as he is their CEO), how can we trust them?
Perhaps even more alarming was that city council spent more time, and asked more tough questions, about chickens and bees than this coal port proposal. Think about this: chickens and bees got more attention and debate than a scientifically proven toxic substance with direct human health effects.
Chickens and bees, people. Chickens and bees. These are our leaders.
No councillor questioned Tapics on his claim that coal is safe because it’s “organic”. By this same flawed logic, uranium, radium, arsenic, lead, methane, and mercury are non-hazardous, because they too occur “organically”.
Graham Hughes,
Port Alberni
