Rally to Mark One Year Anniversary of Mt. Polley Breach
Williams Lake, B.C. – The United Steelworkers union has organized a rally in Williams Lake to coincide with the one year anniversary of the breach at Mt.Polley.
“We really want to have the public, the province, the world, whatever, to let them understand the impacts that the breach has had on the lives of the workers and the people of the Cariboo,” says local 1-425 president Paul French. “So we’re going to have a barbecue for them and let them know that we still support the mine fully reopening.”
He says the impact of the breach has been enormous. “There was over 400 people that worked at the mine prior to the breach and they’re going to recall close to 200 to get the permit going but that’s still another 200 that aren’t going to be working for some time.”
Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb says the City will be out showing their full support.
“To celebrate getting the mine open again, showing our support that we want to get these guys back to work.”
He notes the past year has been a difficult one for the community of roughly 11,000 people.
“It’s been a little depressing to say the least. Businesses have been hurting,” says Cobb. “When you have that many people out of work they don’t have the money to spend.”
The rally takes place Tuesday, August 4, at 5pm at Boitanio Park. It will include a free barbecue and activities for kids.
Comments
The going to start the celebration with a huge glass of water from the tailing pond as the first toast? unless you are worried because you really know how horrible it is to humans….
Yup, not one single word about the devastated environment and food chain. It’s all about jobs and the economy. Sure wish it was a more responsible company and government reopening this mine, because in my opinion, it is just a matter of time before a tailing pond breach happens again.
Not one word in your comment about the environmental devastation of which the effects will be felt “in perpetuity”… you do know what that means don’t you Grog.
Nice effect rounding up to 400 employees, when we both know there is less than that employed there. As for families suffering, I bet the fishing lodges and those other businesses that rely on tourism dollars in the area are not doing so well.
Speaking of Union brothers and sisters, here is what the Professional Employees Association (PEA) had to say about the Mount Polley disaster, you only need to read the report Introduction (one & half pages) to recognize the challenge this industry is facing regarding the province’s ability to oversee and regulate the industry, including a 25% reduction in Professional Employee in the government. The PEA specifically warned both government and industry 5 months before the Mount Polley disaster that those reductions could impact on public and environmental safety because of inadequate mine inspections and monitoring.
http: //tinyurl.com/own7uhs
Copy and paste the link to your browser address bar, then delete the space between the http: and the /
The above link is to a report the PEA submitted to the Mount Polley Mine Review Panel, it is a safe link.
Hart guy.. So then you have no problem ruining the environment to save a few jobs.. Guessing you think the millions of litres of toxins that where released are okay.. It’s just part of doing business to your types.. Pathetic
Thanks for the link Ataloss..:)
If you don’t know what an angle grinder is just ask or use the define feature on your PC ( pun intended ) .
P Val, Of course I do not have any wish to ruin the environment. I do believe in resource extraction but I believe that we need to do it in a responsible manner. We are all consumers of our natural resources and we should extract them and use them as safely and efficiently as possible. But that does not mean that we shouldn’t extract and use them!
I DO NOT think that millions of toxin laden litres of water being released is ok. If you read my posts after the spill, you will know that I do not consider this to be acceptable! But it happened! As was stated by many, it was an accident waiting to happen, an unfortunate unforeseen accident caused by a weak undetected layer beneath the dam.
So, where do we go from here? The mine is being given a permit to reopen. Numerous conditions have been imposed. It will not be operating at full capacity and it is my understanding that no effluent will be discharged into the existing tailings pond or nearby rivers, streams or lakes. Effluent will be stored in an existing pit.
So, do we never reopen the mine? Do we tell the 200 or so workers, your good Union brothers I might add, that they are now permanently laid off? Do we tell them that your wonderful NDP screwed up by approving this mine in the first place, obviously with inadequate data regarding the substrate under the proposed dam?
Is that what you want?
Wow, all this mud-slinging is disgusting. I’m pretty sure Ben would not be happy with most of the comments here. Time to grow up boys.
Supposed to be a disaster for the salmon run, hey biggest salmon they have seen in that area.
I’m with you Ibear. What an embarrassment.
Pre Mulroney, Canada had a clothing industry, an electronics industry, etc. We were essentially self sufficient although many of these industries were subsidized. We traded for luxuries – i.e., fresh fruit and vegetables, not necessities. Then came Brian Mulroney who switched us to dependence on world trade for necessities, and we’ve been screwed ever since. Now, you can whine all you want about environmental standards, safety standards, living wages, but fact is, we’re in global competition and if our competitors don’t have to abide by these standards, they will take our markets and we will find ourselves with little to trade for necessities. This as I see it is the problem, like many, I have no answer to solve it
Hart Guy-an unfortunate unforeseen accident caused by a weak undetected layer beneath the dam.
Do you actually beleive that statement? I think someone on this site before posted that the glass of water was too full. The pressure on the wall was too great and it blew the wall out.
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