Last Updated on May 19, 2019
Tsilhqot’in Call on Federal Government to Make the Only Responsible Decision and Reject this Bad Mining Proposal Once and For All
October 31, 2013, Williams Lake, B.C: The Tsilhqot’in Nation welcomes today’s Panel Report on the New Prosperity mine proposal and notes that it contains even more concerns and criticisms than were contained in the 2010 report into Taseko Mines Ltd.’s original proposal. That report was described by then environment minister Jim Prentice as “scathing” and “most condemning” when he rejected the first proposal on behalf of the federal government.
“In 2010 TML and Environment Canada stated the rejected proposal was the least environmentally risky of all options, so it comes as absolutely no surprise that this latest proposal has been found to be worse,” said Chief Joe Alphonse, Tribal Chair for the Tsilhqot’in National Government. “First Nations will be outraged if the federal government accepts this project after rejecting the first one. This report makes it abundantly clear that the only misinformation being put out about this project is the company’s own claims that it has addressed all the issues and that its proposal will present no problems. The federal government now has what it needs to finally put a nail in the coffin.”
“The Tsilhqot’in are en route to the Supreme Court of Canada on November 7th to have our title case heard,” said Chief Roger William of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government. “The Land Question is exactly about avoiding this kind of conflict. There will be no certainty or faith in the environmental review process if bad projects like the New Prosperity Mine get approved despite the overwhelming scientific and cultural evidence against it. Economic arguments did not justify the impacts in 2010 and they won’t in this case either.”
“The company has now been given two chances in the space of three years, which is unprecedented,” said Chief Russell Myers Ross of the Yunesit’in Government. “It is clear that the project is not acceptable. Besides reaffirming the belief in our culture, this project is a waste of time, and should be rejected once and for all. We would rather focus on ideas and projects that are appropriate culturally and environmentally, and therefore meet our vision for the land based on our value system.”
Below is a backgrounder listing the many concerns and criticisms raised by federal and provincial experts and others at the panel hearings.
MEDIA:
Chief Joe Alphonse – 250-305-8282 (after 9am PST)
Chief Roger William – 250-267-6593
For Assistance Reaching the Chiefs: JP Laplante, 250-267-3759
Backgrounder on Federal and Provincial Government Criticisms:
http://www.fonv.ca/media/pdfs/20130819Backgrounder-ConcernsfromRegulatorsaboutNPMineProposal.pdf
4-min Youtube Video on Tsilhqot’in Supreme Court Hearing:
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections,
the threat is global—and it is growing.
What makes this moment especially dangerous is how little attention it receives.
Stories like this are disappearing in real time. Mainstream media
barely covers it and the coverage is fragmented. The public is left without the context
needed to understand what is truly at stake.
That is exactly why IC Magazine exists..
For more than 20 years, IC has reported on Indigenous struggles worldwide — consistently, independently, and without compromise.
We don’t follow news cycles; we trace patterns. We don’t sensationalize; we provide context.
And when the world looks away, we stay focused.
But this work is increasingly difficult to sustain.
We refuse to lock our reporting behind a paywall. We don’t sell access through subscriptions.
And we don’t answer to advertisers. IC Magazine survives solely because readers like you choose to
support independent Indigenous journalism.
Please donate today if you can. Every contribution helps us to continue this crucial work.
Thank you,
John Ahni Schertow
Founder and Editor in Chief
