Before the Mount Polley Mine disaster struck two years ago, our communities of Xat’sull First Nation and Likely, British Columbia, lived in the reassurance from B.C. and the mine’s owner that no such tragedy could ever happen. On Aug. 4, 2014, our lives and the landscape were changed forever, as the impacts of mining are forever.
The Mount Polley disaster — which sent 6.3 billion gallons of contaminated process water and tailings into the lakes — endangered clean water, healthy salmon, our way of life and economic prosperity. The waste has moved well off of the mine footprint, and is loose within the Fraser River watershed and beyond.
Two years later, it is still unknown what the long-term effects will be, and numerous local families and businesses have suffered great losses and hardship. Many of us doubt we can be made whole again — by the mine or the province. Meanwhile, Alaskans watch B.C. from downstream of Imperial Metals’ Red Chris Mine, with the same promises that all is well. It isn’t.
Previous to the disaster, harvesting and processing up to 200 salmon per Xat’sull family was at the heart of our food security, teaching our children about the land, and engaging in cultural practices such as trade and sharing with others — a lifestyle that Alaskans can relate to. Mount Polley responded to our ongoing concerns about contaminated salmon by delivering the equivalent of three tins of salmon per Xat’sull member last winter! Imagine how that would impact an Alaskan family.
Likely and Xat’sull remain deeply concerned about water. After many months of local pressure to secure safe drinking water, the mine provided inefficient domestic water filters for Quesnel Lake homeowners. It continues to use an under-performing water treatment plant that discharges mine effluent into Quesnel Lake, has not finalized a long-term water management plan and recently asked the Ministry of Environment to relax water quality requirements at the water treatment plant. It has left local residents fuming. Have we really come to the point where wanting clean water makes us dissidents?
B.C. has not fined or penalized the company for this disaster. Instead it granted hydro tax breaks — even as parent company Imperial Metals made a first quarter profit of $17.7 million for 2016. This was done with the full support of the B.C. liberal government that has benefitted financially from the donations of this company. Local businesses and residents have received nothing.
While the province announced some changes to the mining code in July, the updates are not strong enough to prevent another Mount Polley disaster. In 2015, the province’s Mount Polley Independent Expert Review Panel estimated two massive tailings dam failures will occur every 10 years. The recent B.C. Auditor General’s condemning report on mining in B.C. stated the obvious: mining self-regulation is not working and a thorough overhaul is required. Communities across B.C. and Southeast Alaska are still at risk.
Xat’sull never gave consent to the re-opening of the mine, nor to the ongoing discharges into the lake. Our traditional economic system lives off the interest, not the principle, of the land to ensure long-term security. Current extractive economies are unsustainable and spend the principle in less than a generation.
Downstream communities, farmers, First Nations, recreational users and sport and commercial fishers also depend on the integrity of healthy watersheds for their food, livelihoods and way of life. It’s all connected.
The precedents being set now will impact future disasters in B.C. and how they are addressed. We all must demand that health and safety be put before one company’s profits, that sustainable economies be supported, and that local communities have decision-making powers over their own future.
Pressure from Alaska regarding protecting the transboundary area of Southeast Alaska and northwestern B.C. has raised the profile in Canada, and our combined voices are needed to protect all that is at stake.
Xat’sull and Likely know that it’s easy to be good neighbours when you respect and understand each other. It’s time for the mining industry and B.C. to act in the best interest of impacted communities and ecosystems, not just the bottom line.
• Richard Holmes is a 42-year Likely resident and biologist who worked closely with Xat’sull in the aftermath of the Mount Polley Mine disaster. He is a member of Concerned Citizens of Quesnel Lake and the Mount Polley Mine Corporation Public Liaison Committee. Jacinda Mack is from the Xat’sull First Nation, near Williams Lake, B.C. She is a grassroots voice for protecting clean water and the coordinator of First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining, a coalition in B.C. promoting mining reform.
