Call for Emergency Letters to Stop Prosperity Mine at Fish Lake
September 25, 2010
The fate of Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) hangs in the balance as Prime Minister Stephan Harper mulls whether to approve the complete destruction of one of the ten best trout lakes in BC for a huge open pit mine. A scandal has erupted with the release of 15 years of letters by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The letters warn the BC government and the proponent, Taseko Mine’s Ltd, that the destruction of the lake and its 90,000 trout could not be approved by DFO, because it would be an irreparable loss of one of the province’s best trout lakes.
Six years ago the BC government turned down a proposal for an expansion of a hunting and fishing lodge on the lake, due to excessive impacts on First Nations and fish values. But in 2008-09 Taseko Mines contributed $30,150 to the Liberal Party. Another contribution received indirectly amounted to $144,000. The BC Government later approved the open pit mine, which will be vastly more damaging than the tourism development turned down in 2004.
The federal Environmental Assessment panel has stated that the mine will cause significant impacts on fish, grizzly bears and Fish Nations values. But the decision has been passed on to Stephen Harper to weigh the destruction of this lake and its surrounding ecosystem against the jobs and corporate profits to come from the mine. THIS IS A CRITICAL TIME FOR LETTERS:
SIGN ON TO THE LETTER BY THE TSILHQUOT’IN FIRST NATION:
http://www.afn.ca/support/fish_lake.html
DOWNLOAD THE SUBMISSION OF THE VALHALLA WILDERNESS SOCIETY TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SEE THE VIDEO OF THE TSILHQUOT’IN NATION ON THE MININGWATCH WEBSITE:
http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/proposed-prosperity-gold-copper-mine
WRITE A MESSAGE TODAY TO:
Prime Minister of Canada: pm@pm.gc.ca
Minister of Indian Affairs John Duncan: Duncan.J@parl.gc.ca
Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice: Minister@ec.gc.ca
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea: Shea.G@parl.gc.ca