In a statement, Gitxaała Chief Councillor Linda Innes told CBC News that Mossman “is certainly accountable for the horrendous examples of what happens when bad mines are allowed to operate without clear oversight.”
But she said the fines imposed “amount to nothing but small fractions of the costs of correcting the devastation left behind.”
“The pollution left behind devastated Banks Island’s salmon-rich creeks and near-shore areas and continues to this day,” Innes said.
She said provincial estimates say cleanup could cost $2.2 million.
MiningWatch Canada national program co-lead, Jamie Kneen, also called the the amount of the fines “disappointing.”
“I think it’s pretty clearly not an effective deterrent,” he told CBC News, adding that Mossman was hired as CEO in 2016 by U.S. mining company Rise Gold despite the charges.
Everything else costs more than the fines.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
provincial court judge David Patterson, who said Benjamin Mossman was “actively or passively involved” in releasing excess zinc and other substances into woods and wetlands on Banks Island in Gitxaała First Nation territory.
Prosecution Service says Crown Counsel is appealing the acquittals for the other charges pressed against Mossman, which include failing to report environmental spills and dumping, discharging mine waste into the environment, and unauthorized work near a stream.
The next day, the provincial environment ministry issued a pollution abatement order, saying the company had released tailings and effluent into a creek, a lake and a pond, as well as forest and wetland, on Banks Island.
In a statement, Gitxaała Chief Councillor Linda Innes told CBC News that Mossman “is certainly accountable for the horrendous examples of what happens when bad mines are allowed to operate without clear oversight.”
“I think it’s pretty clearly not an effective deterrent,” he told CBC News, adding that Mossman was hired as CEO in 2016 by U.S. mining company Rise Gold despite the charges.
In her statement, Innes said it is critical the province “get a handle on all bad mining practices, from the granting of mineral rights through to the damage the Nation is still dealing with on Lax k’naga dzol [island].”
The original article contains 714 words, the summary contains 192 words. Saved 73%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Still blaming government and not uncles, parents, pastors, and family friends. Sounds a lot like projection and obfuscation to me. Trying to throw everyone off their scent…
