Just months after BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark blamed the federal government for the collapse of the Prosperity Mine project at Fish Lake, her minister responsible for mines and energy, Rich Coleman, has an interesting choice of words to now describe consideration of the project.
Rich Coleman has taken political double speak to new heights … read on
“Before anything happens with Prosperity Mine, I think we have to build a strong relationship with the Tsilhqot'in”
"They're a very passionate, wonderful people and they really believe in their rights in that area of the province,I actually agree with them."
"When I became the minister I made a point of saying I'm not going to put the Tsilhqot'in into a box where they're going to have to make decisions,"
"Right now I'm not even having a conversation about Prosperity,"
Coleman faults the proponent of the Prosperity project, Taseko Mines … “I think, quite frankly, the proponent here didn't do a great job of that, to be honest with you."
"But if they don't figure out how they're going to engage with the Tsilhqot'in in a respectful manner to get there, they still won't be successful. I've told them if they're making a submission, they need to provide, in advance, all the information to the Tsilhqot'in."
"I think we have some good news on some of those fronts for them," he said. "I'm going to go build that relationship directly so that someday we may be able to have a legitimate conversation about Prosperity ... I believe some day we will get there -but we'll get there if we do it respectfully and understanding the wishes of the first nation."
Sorry Mr. Coleman however sometimes you can talk till you are blue in the face and it will not make any difference. From everything I have read and heard about the project, the people at Prosperity did everything they could to mitigate any impact there would be on the environment --- including creating a brand new lake to replace a swamp that currently has the name of Fish Lake.
Some people (and I do say some) desire to roll the clock back a century or two. Things were not better back then than they are now … they were just different with a totally unique set of things that could cause problems for mankind.
Would we trade going back to the way things were 100 years ago --- 200 years ago.
I don’t need to explain all of the things we would no longer have if we rolled the clocks back --- we all know what they are and they are not simply conveniences. Sometimes however the so called eco-environmentalists forget, or conveniently ignore them, while conveniently making full use of them.
Prosperity Mine should go ahead -- it means NOT just the well-being of the province, it means good well-paying jobs for everyone in the region, including First Nations people.
The people at Prosperity have come up with a new plan that will further reduce the land base required for the mine --- and amongst a number of other things, will now have no impact at all on Fish Lake. The plan is a good one … so get on board and support it Mr. Coleman. In fact, DO have that conversation rather than saying you won’t!
Talk of the people involved in the mine development not being respectful, not engaging First Nations people, and not providing all the information is garbage ... and you know it!
I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops, and those are the thoughts of one conservative.
Rich Coleman comments can be read HERE
Click HERE for the news story on changes proposed by Taseko Mines, regarding the Prosperity Mine project.
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