Editor:
As many of us are aware, Taseko Mines Ltd. is the proponent of the proposed copper-gold mine at Fish Lake in the Chilcotin.
The project is currently going through the federal environmental review process by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
Taseko has recently donated $5,000 to a community event and has also sponsored some local businesses, and this seems quite generous.
However, according to two separate articles by Larry Pynn in the Vancouver Sun (Dec. 18, 2012), Taseko still owes the federal government somewhere between $282,386 and $392,694 from its bill for the first environmental assessment (Prosperity Mine) in 2010.
Apparently, the federal government and Taseko Mines have been in discussions regarding payment for the balance owing.
One wonders why a company would give money away while it still owes funds to the federal government.
It would seem best and prudent for Taseko to pay off its debt obligations to the Canadian taxpayer before giving donations in the communities affected by the proposed mine at Fish Lake.
Patricia Spencer
108 Mile Ranch
