Bad Advice
I suspect that Taseko CEO Russ Hallbauer
and members of his executive team are
busy polishing their resumés ("Feds
Reject New Prosperity Mine," bcbusi
ness.ca/natural-resources). Shareholders
cannot be pleased that so many millions
have been spent over so many years with
absolutely nothing to show for it. On top
of that, either Taseko has been getting
some terrible legal advice on dealing
with the Tsilhqot'in Nation or the execu-
tive team has been ignoring it. Have they
not heard of "consult, accommodate and
compensate"? It's settled law in Canada.
Randall Gray
Vancouver, B.C.
Can't Take No for an Answer
Your article "Does it Have to Come to
This?" (Mar. '14), about the many conflicts
B.C. mining companies are embroiled in
at home and overseas, rightly points out
that it is challenging to impose mining
developments on unwilling communities
or where opinion is divided. The article,
however, wrongly portrays mining com-
panies as the victims of such conflict
rather than the source.
The last sentence of the article sums
up the root issue: "Throughout the
uncertainty, First Quantum has main-
tained that construction of the Sentinel
mine remains on schedule." That is:
regardless of what local communities
want, the company is pushing forward.
Communities often go to great lengths
to peacefully demonstrate their opposi-
tion to mining projects, using plebiscites,
marches, occupations and environmen-
tal review and permitting processes.
Rarely do companies listen to these sig-
nals and back off from their unilaterally
determined timelines, let alone abandon
a project. When they do back off, it is
almost always under the assumption an
agreement will be reached. To make sure
they get their way, companies use armed
security forces, aggressive lobbying and
financial donations to political parties.
More and more mining companies
are making paper commitments to
respect community rights to free prior
and informed consent. However, com-
panies that actually do so in practice are
rare exceptions, and the industry has a
long way to go to learn that no means no.
Jamie Kneen
MiningWatch Canada
Ottawa, ON
Better Off TED
It's time to reduce the hype about TED
putting Vancouver on the map. It's actu-
feedback
y
p16-17-Feedback_may.indd 16 2014-04-09 3:25 PM
