Editor:
The following letter was sent to the mayor and council of Williams Lake, dated Jan. 20, 2013.
We appreciate that Williams Lake city council passed a motion in September, 2012, giving only conditional support to Taseko’s proposed Prosperity Mine at Fish Lake.
Therefore, we respectfully ask that city council await environmental approval by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency panel and adequate consultation with First Nations before taking a final position on this project.
Given the wide range of opinions about the “New Prosperity” mine proposal among the citizens of Williams Lake, we request that City Council:
– make it clear in public statements that council’s support depends on the project’s meeting environmental standards, and full consultation with First Nations. Publicity from City Hall does not always express this caveat.
– refrain from making a submission to the federal review Panel about the suitability of the mine proposal,
– refrain from lobbying other levels of government to approve this proposal from Taseko Mines Ltd.
– investigate all sides of the issues raised by the “New” Prosperity mine proposal, including:
– the marginal economics of the mineral ore body
– First Nations traditions and Aboriginal rights in the area
– the full environmental and socio-economic impacts of the proposed mine
We would welcome any opportunity to share what we have learned about this project.
We have been studying assessments done by scientists at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ministry of the Environment and some of Taseko’s own consultants, as well as the panel’s documents identifying inadequacies in the current Environmental Impact Statement.
Many of these are available at our website.
We also look forward to presenting some of this information to Council in the near future.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions.
Sincerely,
Jenny Noble
for the Fish Lake Alliance
