SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Fallout from Canadian Mining Disaster Continues As First Nation Delivers Eviction Notice
Mount Polley disaster ripples through British Columbia, with blockades and layoffs
Aug 15, 2014
The Neskonlith Indian Band on Thursday served an eviction notice to Imperial Metals, the company responsible for the massive tailings pond breach at Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia, which is seeking to site a separate lead and zinc mine near the headwaters of the Adams River -- within Neskonlith territory and home to an important sockeye salmon run. Known as the Ruddock Creek Mine, the contested project is still in the development phase and has yet to go through the environmental assessment process.
"As...the caretakers of our land and waters, Neskonlith, part of the Lake Secwepemc People, have an obligation to protect our land for our future generations," according to a statement issued by the First Nation band. "Neskonlith Indian Band cannot permit any mining development especially in these Sacred Headwaters that will contaminate the water or destroy our salmon habitat."
In an interview with the Canadian Press, Neskonlith Chief Judy Wilson said the Mount Polley spill shows the company cannot be trusted to build and operate a mine while also protecting the surrounding environment. "The industry has proven at Mount Polley that they can't regulate all of that," she said.
Last week, a group calling themselves the Klabona Keepers blocked access to workers at the pending Red Chris Mine, also developed and operated by Imperial Metals and scheduled to open later this year.
In the Neskonlith statement, Wilson says that if Imperial Metals does not comply with their eviction notice, they will also block access to the Ruddock Creek Mine.
Imperial Metals, whose shares have fallen almost 40 percent since the Mount Polley disaster in early August, has said that there shouldn't be a concern about a similar tailings pond breach at Ruddock, as the tailings would be stored in a different way than the Mount Polley mine.
A union representative this week told CBC News that 42 workers have received layoff notices in the wake of the spill.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
The Neskonlith Indian Band on Thursday served an eviction notice to Imperial Metals, the company responsible for the massive tailings pond breach at Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia, which is seeking to site a separate lead and zinc mine near the headwaters of the Adams River -- within Neskonlith territory and home to an important sockeye salmon run. Known as the Ruddock Creek Mine, the contested project is still in the development phase and has yet to go through the environmental assessment process.
"As...the caretakers of our land and waters, Neskonlith, part of the Lake Secwepemc People, have an obligation to protect our land for our future generations," according to a statement issued by the First Nation band. "Neskonlith Indian Band cannot permit any mining development especially in these Sacred Headwaters that will contaminate the water or destroy our salmon habitat."
In an interview with the Canadian Press, Neskonlith Chief Judy Wilson said the Mount Polley spill shows the company cannot be trusted to build and operate a mine while also protecting the surrounding environment. "The industry has proven at Mount Polley that they can't regulate all of that," she said.
Last week, a group calling themselves the Klabona Keepers blocked access to workers at the pending Red Chris Mine, also developed and operated by Imperial Metals and scheduled to open later this year.
In the Neskonlith statement, Wilson says that if Imperial Metals does not comply with their eviction notice, they will also block access to the Ruddock Creek Mine.
Imperial Metals, whose shares have fallen almost 40 percent since the Mount Polley disaster in early August, has said that there shouldn't be a concern about a similar tailings pond breach at Ruddock, as the tailings would be stored in a different way than the Mount Polley mine.
A union representative this week told CBC News that 42 workers have received layoff notices in the wake of the spill.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
The Neskonlith Indian Band on Thursday served an eviction notice to Imperial Metals, the company responsible for the massive tailings pond breach at Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia, which is seeking to site a separate lead and zinc mine near the headwaters of the Adams River -- within Neskonlith territory and home to an important sockeye salmon run. Known as the Ruddock Creek Mine, the contested project is still in the development phase and has yet to go through the environmental assessment process.
"As...the caretakers of our land and waters, Neskonlith, part of the Lake Secwepemc People, have an obligation to protect our land for our future generations," according to a statement issued by the First Nation band. "Neskonlith Indian Band cannot permit any mining development especially in these Sacred Headwaters that will contaminate the water or destroy our salmon habitat."
In an interview with the Canadian Press, Neskonlith Chief Judy Wilson said the Mount Polley spill shows the company cannot be trusted to build and operate a mine while also protecting the surrounding environment. "The industry has proven at Mount Polley that they can't regulate all of that," she said.
Last week, a group calling themselves the Klabona Keepers blocked access to workers at the pending Red Chris Mine, also developed and operated by Imperial Metals and scheduled to open later this year.
In the Neskonlith statement, Wilson says that if Imperial Metals does not comply with their eviction notice, they will also block access to the Ruddock Creek Mine.
Imperial Metals, whose shares have fallen almost 40 percent since the Mount Polley disaster in early August, has said that there shouldn't be a concern about a similar tailings pond breach at Ruddock, as the tailings would be stored in a different way than the Mount Polley mine.
A union representative this week told CBC News that 42 workers have received layoff notices in the wake of the spill.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.