Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Alaskans Warm Up To B.C. Mines Minister But Still Demand Concrete Assurances

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 27 Aug, 2015 12:04 PM
    JUNEAU, Alaska — British Columbia's mines minister has broken the ice with southeast Alaska's fishing community over fears that upstream mining projects in the province could endanger their way of life.
     
    But advocates said Wednesday that they still need a long-term strategy from Bill Bennett in the event of a Mount-Polley-type disaster that polluted waterways in B.C.'s Interior a year ago.
     
    He spent three days conducting about 30 meetings with Alaskan government officials, tribal associations, commercial fishermen and conservationists.
     
    It was the first time residents spoke directly with Bennett and gave him a tour along the Taku River, which they worry could become contaminated by a mining accident.
     
    Many Alaskans became more opposed to mining in B.C.'s northwest after a tailings dam burst in August 2014. The Mount Polley breach spilled 24 million cubic metres of waste waters into rivers and streams.
     
    Several groups agreed that meeting with Bennett on Wednesday led to some progress.
     
    "He seemed to be a genuinely concerned guy," said Chris Zimmer, of Rivers Without Borders. "It's good that he himself hunts and fishes, because a lot of the concerns here are over the impact of mining on food, on water, on fish, on game and the things we feed our families and our businesses."
     
    But Zimmer said the face-to-face meetings were just the first step.
     
    "The jury is still out on whether we are going to get something from him that is going to address our concerns, because we're not down to that level of detail yet."
     
    The groups' top request is for an international agreement under the Boundary Waters Treaty, which they say will provide assurances for compensation if a mining spill were to pollute their waterways.
     
    "Fishermen want commitments ... to be backed up by the full force of the U.S. government and Crown, because that offers the greatest chance that they will be binding and upheld over time," Dale Kelley, executive director of the Alaska Trollers Association, said in a statement.
     
    Following the meetings, Bennett said he didn't realize how much the Alaskans wanted financial guarantees to protect their businesses.
     
    "I think there is a hopeful but, unfortunately, misplaced faith in the capacity of the Boundary Waters Treaty to resolve that particular issue," he said in an interview.
     
    "If there was an easy and quick way to structure how compensation is paid out in an international, transboundary situation, it would have been done years and years ago."
     
    The treaty would obligate B.C. and Alaska to ensure that neither jurisdiction contaminates each other's land and water, he said.
     
    Bennett said he told the groups that the province and the state must demonstrate there's no possible way to deal with the issue on their own before the treaty could be activated.
     
    "That came, I think, as a bit of a shock to the groups we met with," he said. "I think they believe it's a question of you just ask."
     
    — Written by Tamsyn Burgmann in Vancouver

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Stealthy Snake On The Loose In Metro Vancouver Conservation Area

    Stealthy Snake On The Loose In Metro Vancouver Conservation Area
    City of Burnaby staff saw the snake curled up on a road on Burnaby Mountain near Simon Fraser University around noon on Monday

    Stealthy Snake On The Loose In Metro Vancouver Conservation Area

    CTV Says Reporter Charged A Year After Arrest While Covering Ferguson Protests

    CTV Says Reporter Charged A Year After Arrest While Covering Ferguson Protests
    CTV says its Los Angeles bureau chief has been charged nearly a year after his arrest while covering the protests in Ferguson, Mo.

    CTV Says Reporter Charged A Year After Arrest While Covering Ferguson Protests

    Toronto Mayor Meets With Olympic Committee As City Weighs Bid For 2024 Games

    Toronto's mayor is one step closer to deciding whether the city will bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.

    Toronto Mayor Meets With Olympic Committee As City Weighs Bid For 2024 Games

    Investigators Unable To Determine Cause Of Fire That Killed Four Manitoba Boys

    Investigators Unable To Determine Cause Of Fire That Killed Four Manitoba Boys
    WINNIPEG — Investigators say they are unable to determine the cause of a house fire in rural Manitoba that killed four boys who were between nine and 15 years old.

    Investigators Unable To Determine Cause Of Fire That Killed Four Manitoba Boys

    Sask. Gov Wraps Up Public Consultations On Farmland Ownership Restrictions

    Sask. Gov Wraps Up Public Consultations On Farmland Ownership Restrictions
    Saskatchewan's agriculture minister says almost all options are on the table as the government considers the future of farmland ownership restrictions in the province.

    Sask. Gov Wraps Up Public Consultations On Farmland Ownership Restrictions

    Man Who Found Knife Blade In Back Three Years After Stabbing Files Lawsuit

    Man Who Found Knife Blade In Back Three Years After Stabbing Files Lawsuit
    YELLOWKNIFE — A man from the Northwest Territories has filed a lawsuit against health officials claiming they failed to find a knife blade buried in his back for three years.

    Man Who Found Knife Blade In Back Three Years After Stabbing Files Lawsuit