Dear editor,While we are free to express ourselves in presenting our opinion, some things are knowable facts.Such is the case for this letter in responding to misinformation and false counterclaims made by supporters of the Raven Coal Mine, including Michael Loftus of Parksville (Record, April 25).John Tapics (CEO of Compliance Energy Corporation, owner of the Raven Coal Mine) said the Compliance Energy Corporation and workers will pay “income tax, but no mineral tax will be paid because it is a privately owned resource.” (Record, May 31, 2011).This is clearly a source that doesn’t carry an opposition bias in presenting the facts about Raven Coal Mine not paying mineral royalties. In this case, I am willing to take Mr. Tapics’ word for it.And in support of the facts regarding the need for skilled foreign mine workers for the specialized tasks involved in the underground Raven Coal Mine, I would take the words of David Bazowski, chair of the B.C. Mineral Exploration and Mining Labour Task Force, who is sponsored by the province and various mining industry groups. “Like it or not, foreign workers will inevitably play a role in the province’s mining industry,” he said.Responsible for investigating ways to address the growing shortage of skilled labour in the province’s mining industry, he says, “There simply aren’t enough Canadians to do the necessary work” and it is “only getting more severe.”In regard to Mr. Loftus’ “research” into the mining history of the Comox Valley, he has made an honest mistake in naming Fanny Bay as the location of coal washing “for over 20 years,” when in fact it was Union Bay. And we know about the toxic damage inflicted on Union Bay, as it was recently assessed in preparing the site for the proposed Kensington development there. It was decided that the best solution was to attempt to cap the building site, as disturbing the remaining residual coal waste would pose a threat of releasing even more toxicity into the waters. There is “permanent closure” of the shellfish industry in Union Bay today, and Hart (Washer) Creek has never fully recovered.B.C. Auditor General John Doyle recently concluded in his audit of B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office, “The audit found that the Environmental Assessment Office cannot assure British Columbians that mitigation efforts are having the intended effects because adequate monitoring is not occurring and follow-up evaluations are not being conducted. We also found that information currently being provided to the public is not sufficient to ensure accountability.”This should hardly be cause for us to trust that “government workers and elected officials care about the environment’ and ensure Compliance Energy Corporation and the Raven Coal Mine “complies with all regulations” as Mr. Loftus would have us believe.In his letter, Mr. Loftus attempts to tie relief from high ferry costs to Denman Island where I reside, to “extra income” he mistakenly believes will come from coal mining royalties. He is either easily mislead and poorly researched, or he is part of the astroturf letter-writing campaigns we have come to expect from those whose self-interests are kept concealed.This is our home. We defend it using fact-based arguments and other non-violent means. No to Compliance. Keith Porteous,Denman Island

Comox Valley Record