There is a public information meeting this Wednesday, at city hall from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. where we can learn all about the planned Johnson Street/10th Avenue upgrades.
If I have it right, the upgrades are to accommodate the Ministry of Transportation’s plans to move the Highway 97 and Carson Drive intersection up the road to cross at Toop and 11th Avenue.
I’m curious to know what this is all about. And why is the meeting being held now when many people are holidaying? What’s the rush? Couldn’t it wait until September?
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Two steps left in the New Prosperity Mine review process. The panel recommendation, then Prime Minister Harper’s decision. The mainstream media has finally noticed that the issue isn’t First Nations versus everyone else. It’s between people who fear the mine will result in long-lasting damage to the land and water versus those who think the relatively short-term benefits are worth it. The First Nations happen to have the most to lose.
The Secretariat, especially the panel members, deserve a medal. I found sitting in on a few sessions as an observer was exhausting. Five weeks of sitting and keeping alert must have been brutal. Whatever they are paid, they all deserve every cent of it.
I thought the Taseko people got a bit tacky at the end and it wasn’t necessary.
In their summing up (as reported in the panel documents) they accused First Nations’ leaders of “orchestrating presentations,” “manufacturing” opposition to the mine, resulting in a “distorted” view of reality.
Horsefeathers. For one thing, maybe everyone doesn’t share Taseko’s view of reality. For another, Taseko, too, has done some persuading, dangling visions of Good Times before the eyes of those who want to believe. And don’t tell me the proponents did no orchestrating of presentations.
Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.
