Taskeo Mines, proponent of the embattled New Prosperity mine — a $1.5-billion open-pit gold and copper mine, that has been rejected twice by the federal government — is back in court once again. The decades-long battle to build a mine in the sacred territory of the Tsilhqot’in First Nation is entering a new chapter as Taseko appeals to a federal court to revive an application for judicial review rejected by a court tribunal. The application, filed in 2017, claimed the federal government erred in accepting information from Natural Resource Canada regarding the seepage rate of toxic water from the proposed New Prosperity mine and significant environmental threats to Fish Lake and Wasp Lake. Taseko asked for the information, used by a federal-provincial Joint Review Panel to reject the mine, be declared ‘invalid’ and ‘quashed.’

That request was denied by a tribunal and in January Taseko appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal to reconsider the application for judicial review.

The federal government rejected the mine, in part, because it was found toxic water seepage associated with the project would be greater than company estimates.

The continuing volley of legal challenges surrounding the mine’s rejection will not wear down Indigenous opposition to the project, say Tsilhqot’in leaders, who argue Taseko should give up the costly court cases and acknowledge the New Prosperity project will never be built.

The New Prosperity mine falls within the bounds of the Tsilhqot’in Dasiqox Tribal Park, a conservation area the nation has constitutionally protected rights to hunt, fish and trap within.

Timeline: Carol Linnitt / The Narwhal

Legal process draining First Nations time, money: Chief

Chief Jimmy Lulua of Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government told The Narwhal that there is no chance the mine proposal will go ahead, but the company is using its financial capability to drain Tsilhqot’in money, time and resources.

“The people of Xeni Gwet’in have pushed back since this process started, working for all of our people, not just for our self-benefit as an industry like Taseko Mines does. We Tsilhqot’in people are mandated, bound by the seventh generation law, which means seven generations from now we have the same level of ecosystem intact, being sustainable for future generations.”

“We are the river people and that means we rely on fish. It connects our entire nation together and, if someone is going to threaten that, they will have a war on their hands. That’s how we look at it,” he said.

Plans for New Prosperity would turn Fish Lake, a sacred area known by the Tsilhqot’in as Teztan Biny, into an aquarium, cutting off its outflow and potentially affecting chinook and salmon runs, Lulua said.

The appeal decision will likely take six to eight months, but in the meantime, both sides are awaiting a B.C. Supreme Court decision on an exploratory drilling program, approved by the BC Liberal government on the last day that former premier Christy Clark was in office and while the Tsilhqot’in were under a wildfire evacuation order.

An interim injunction is currently in place preventing the company from working on its plan to build 76 kilometres of roads and trails, 122 geotechnical drill sites, 367 trench or pit tests, 20 kilometres of seismic lines and a 50-person work camp.

But, the mine cannot proceed without federal approval and questions abound about why the company would fight to go ahead with the exploratory program when the mine proposal was turned down by the federal government in 2014 and its predecessor, which proposed draining Fish Lake and turning it into a tailings pond, was rejected in 2010.

Federal reviews found that the mine would be likely to cause severe environmental damage and violate aboriginal rights.

But that has not deterred Taseko from its legal bombardment and, percolating in the background, is yet another case, which is before B.C. Supreme Court, claiming damages against the federal government for its failure to approve the mine.

“Unfortunately Taseko Mines wouldn’t take no for an answer,” said Ecojustice lawyer Sean Nixon, who appeared in the Federal Court of Appeal in January on behalf of MiningWatch Canada.

If the Federal Court of Appeal turns down the Taseko case, the only route forward for the company would be the Supreme Court of Canada, but that would mean applying for leave to appeal — something that is not frequently granted, Nixon said.

The cases are important because of the potential of the mine to harm the environment and the need to support the Tsilhqot’in in their fight to protect their traditional territory, Nixon said, adding there is also a need to support the federal panel’s precautionary approach.

Taseko’s proposal to build New Prosperity suggested that approval should be given first and details about environmental protection could be worked out later.

That raised serious red flags, Nixon said.

“If panels approve projects without knowing how companies plan to address serious environmental risks, those projects can end up proceeding before anyone knows whether and how those risks can be managed and mitigated,” he wrote in a blog post.

Lulua hopes the decision will support the Tsilhqot’in position, but the frequent court cases have made him cynical.

“We thought it was the end when the first federal assessment told them ‘no.’ We thought it was over then, but the court system keeps giving them loopholes,” he said.

The company did not return calls from The Narwhal.

The Taseko website, while extolling the economic and social value of the New Prosperity mine, claims that it has the potential “to dramatically increase shareholder value.”

However, because of the federal government decision and ongoing legal proceedings “there is considerable uncertainty with respect to successful permitting of the project,” it says.

Meanwhile, Taseko can be assured that the Tsilhqot’in will not be discussing the mine with a company that has shown disrespect for the people and the culture, Lulua said.

“The bridge between us and Taseko Mines is burned. That bridge is gone. They can’t rebuild it,” he said.

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The Tsilhqot’in Nation is urgently searching for ways to block an exploratory drilling program for the New Prosperity mine, a controversial gold and copper project that was formally rejected by the federal government on two separate occasions.

An injunction preventing the exploratory drilling — permitted by the outgoing BC Liberal government on its final day in power — was lifted Friday after B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ward K. Branch dismissed the Tsilhqot’in Nation’s legal bid to stop exploration in the remote area 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake.

Drilling equipment and road building machinery can now move into sacred Tsilhqot’in territory despite the project’s lack of federal environmental permits.

Earlier this month the Tsilhqot’in called on the B.C. government to quash provincial permits for Taseko’s exploratory drilling program.

“It is one of the most sacred places we have and some of our most significant archaeological finds come out of that area so having them clear trees, build highways and roads will destroy centuries of culture,” Chief Joe Alphonse, Tsilhqot’in National Government tribal chairman, told The Narwhal.

Exploratory permits allow for 122 drill sites in tribal park

The exploration — which includes 76 kilometres of roads and trails, 122 geotechnical drill sites, 367 trench or pit tests, 20 kilometres of seismic lines and a 50-person work camp — would take place in traditional Tsilhqot’in territory, adjacent to the only area in Canada where Aboriginal rights and title has been recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The decade-long legal battle over Taseko’s plans for the open-pit gold and copper mine has centred around Fish Lake, known by the Tsilhqot’in as Teztan Biny, and Nabas, an area of cultural and spiritual significance, which is where the exploration work is planned.

It is also the site of the historic Dasiqox Tribal Park, a 3000 square kilometre patch of land located adjacent to the nation’s title lands, where the Supreme Court ruled the Tsilhqot’in have constitutionally protected rights to hunt, fish and trap.

Following the B.C. Supreme Court’s decision to allow preliminary mining activity in the area, a the Tsilhqot’in launched a petition to protect the area.

Efforts to establish Aboriginal rights, protect environment “long and difficult”: Judge

The Tsilhqot’in alleged the B.C. government had breached its duty to consult, but Justice Branch found that the key question was not the degree of consultation, but the outcome, and quoted a previous decision that said “while reconciliation may not be achieved because of an honest disagreement over whether the project should proceed, that does not mean the process was flawed.”

Justice Branch acknowledged the project represents a collision course of conservation, Indigenous rights and natural resource development.

“The history of the simultaneous efforts to establish Aboriginal rights, protect the environment and develop what may be one of the world’s largest gold deposits, has been long and difficult,” he wrote in his decision.

“Based on the evidence presented to me, all parties and governments appear to be acting in good faith to advance what they each perceive to be the proper use for the land,” he wrote.

“But, unfortunately, good faith cannot always prevent disagreement. That is when courts must step in to help the parties move forward.”

For the Tsilhqot’in the New Prosperity mine appears a battle that never ends — despite both the provincial and federal governments agreeing the mine would have significant adverse environmental effects on culture, historical sites, fish habitat and moose and grizzly bear populations.

Taseko is also fighting the two federal rejections of the project in Federal Court of Appeal and appears to pin company hopes on a reversal.

In a letter, written in March last year to the province and Tsilhqot’in, Taseko said the federal rejection should have no bearing on the provincial exploration permit.

“The present status of the federal environmental assessment does not, in any way, prohibit such information gathering,” the letter said.

Taseko did not return calls from The Narwhal.

Exploratory work may boost shareholder interest

Chief Jimmy Lulua of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government said people have not endured 25 years of panel hearings and court cases simply to have Taseko and B.C. run roughshod over proven Aboriginal rights.

“We’re past the stage of consultation,” he said.

“The drilling program stands to displace our families, threaten our sacred sites and interrupt our ceremonies and teaching opportunities for our youth. Teztan Biny and Nabas are a no-go zone for Taseko Mines.”

On its website, Taseko acknowledges the fate of the project is uncertain: “In light of the federal government’s decision not to issue the authorizations necessary for the project to proceed, and the related ongoing legal proceedings initiated by Taseko, there is considerable uncertainty with respect to successful permitting of the project.”

However the company has pushed hard for the right to conduct exploratory drilling and road building.

Alphonse said he believes the company is pushing to conduct the exploration work in an effort to pull in investors and make shareholders believe there is still a chance the project will go ahead.

“It’s a senseless project. The best possible scenario on this project will not overturn the federal decision. The federal government has rejected Taseko’s plan twice now making it virtually impossible to ever have a project there,” he said.

The provincial exploration permit was issued on former premier Christy Clark’s last official day in office and at the height of the wildfires raging in Tsilhqot’in territory.

Alphonse — who, along with other chiefs, is hoping to meet with government representatives this week — said the NDP should now do the honourable thing and stop the permit in its tracks.

The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources told The Narwhal in an e-mailed statement that Taseko “has applied for an Occupant Licence To Cut, which is necessary to undertake the scope of the work that the Notice of Work granted. That application is currently with the Statutory Decision Maker for consideration.”

While stopping the exploration work is the priority, Alphonse also dreams of holding the former BC Liberal government accountable for making the last-gasp decision that has such long-term ramifications.

“It was so very irresponsible. We will be exploring that. We need to remind people how that permit came to be,” Alphonse said.

Taseko Mines donated $137,450 to the BC Liberals between 2008 and 2017. In addition, CEO Russell Hallbauer donated more than $96,000 and company chairman Ronald Thiessen donated more than $64,000.

Meanwhile, Tsilhqot’in leaders will be holding meetings with the membership to look at ways to oppose the exploration program.

Alphonse said it’s a possibility the Tsilhqot’in might appeal the ruling, despite the additional cost of returning to court.

You can’t put a price on your belief system. You can’t put a price on your religion — that is what keeps you balanced, ” he said.

*Update Tuesday, August 28 9:53pm pst. This article was updated to add comment provided by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.

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The Tsilhqot’in Nation is back in court this week in another effort to stop Taseko Mines Ltc. from drilling, bulldozing trails and building a 50-person work camp in an area considered a sacred site by the First Nation.

On Friday the B.C. Supreme Court turned down an application by the federal government to stop the exploration work, ruling that it does not violate the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

The federal government, which has twice turned down Taskeko’s application for an open-pit copper-gold mine because of “significant adverse environmental effects,” argued that a plan for 122 exploratory drill holes, 367 excavated test pits and 20 kilometres of seismic lines, violated the Environmental Assessment Act.

The federal government contended the activities are not truly exploratory, but instead, are detailed design work for the proposed New Prosperity Mine  — a plan that has already been rejected.

The mine, proposed for an area 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake, cannot be built without federal approval.

Last year, at the height of wildfires in the area, and days before the new NDP government was to be sworn in, the former B.C. Liberal government authorized Taseko to go ahead with the exploration work. The provincial government previously issued an environmental assessment certificate for the mine in 2010.

Taseko argued successfully in court that the exploration activities are not within the scope of the federal Assessment Act and the injunction application was refused by Judge Carla Forth.

A company spokesman previously said a court ruling was needed to sort out a jurisdictional dispute between the federal and provincial governments and that the drilling and trail-building was simply information-gathering.

On Monday lawyers for the Tsilhqot’in Nation were in B.C. Supreme Court asking for a judicial review of the B.C. Mines Act permit for the drilling program and asking for an injunction to stop the work from proceeding in the meantime.

Taseko’s continuing efforts to build a mine, in a spiritually and culturally significant area, is a waste of everyone’s time and should never have happened, said Chief Russell Myers Ross, Tsilhqot’in National Government vice-chairman.

“The approval of an extensive drilling program for the stated purpose of advancing the New Prosperity project — after it was rejected by the federal government and after Taseko’s legal challenges were dismissed by the Federal Court — is absolutely absurd,” he said.

Tribal Chairman Joe Alphonse said Taseko is making a mockery of the environmental review process and the justice system and illustrates why the provincial environmental review  process needs to change.

“Cases like the Tsilhqot’in decision have led to policy changes throughout Canada — it’s time for business and government in B.C. to follow suit,” Alphonse said in a news release.

The B.C. government is currently conducting a review of the environmental assessment process.

In a landmark case in 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada granted aboriginal title to the Tsilhqot’in for about 1,700 square kilometres of land. The proposed mine is adjacent to that area and the First Nations have declared it an area of proven aboriginal rights.

Plans for the  $1.3-billion New Prosperity Mine, which Taseko describes as Canada’s largest undeveloped copper-gold project, took the place of the company’s initial application for the Prosperity Mine, which was rejected by the federal government, largely because of plans to drain Fish Lake, known as Teztan Biny in Tsilhqot’in language.

“Right now, the only thing that could stand in the way of Taseko Mines sending in bulldozers and drills into Fish Lake is the Tsilhqot’in National Government’s judicial review and injunction application — or B.C. NDP action of some kind,” JP Laplante, the First Nation’s mining, oil and gas manager said in an email.

The B.C Supreme Court case is scheduled to continue until Thursday.

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By Gavin Smith, staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law Association. This piece first appeared in the Vancouver Sun.

B.C.’s new government is already seeing proof that it made the right move when it committed to reform environmental assessment and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Taseko Mines’ New Prosperity mine proposal, back in the spotlight again for another round of litigation, is a poster child for the failings of B.C.’s environmental assessment regime — and the need for change.

The Tsilhqot’in National Government is currently seeking an injunction to prevent Taseko from digging test pits and conducting geotechnical drilling under provincial approvals granted in the last days of the outgoing government.

The proposed mine would be located within an area of Tsilhqot’in territory that includes Teztan Biny (Fish Lake). The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized constitutionally protected Tsilhqot’in hunting and trapping rights in the area. The region is also near to, but outside, the lands in which the Court recognized Tsilhqot’in aboriginal title.

ICYMI: Outgoing BC Liberals Issue Mining Permits in Tsilhqot’in Territory During Wildfire Evacuation

To glimpse the full picture of the Tsilhqot’in Nation’s fight against the project, let’s take a step back.

B.C. granted an environmental assessment certificate for Taseko’s initial Prosperity mine proposal in 2010. Since then, there have been two federal assessments that rejected two versions of the project. Nonetheless, B.C. extended Taseko’s approval, and the company is seeking to amend its certificate since the mine proposal is now different from what B.C. initially approved.

There has been a series of legal battles surrounding the project. The Tsilhqot’in Nation obtained an injunction on Taseko’s work in 2011, and Taseko challenged the latest federal rejection of its project. On top of all that are the current injunction hearings, and a letter from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency stating that work under the new provincial approvals would violate federal law.

It’s obvious that there are some major underlying problems here. One of the key issues is B.C.’s weak Environmental Assessment Act.

So, what’s wrong with the B.C. environmental assessment process in this picture?

First, the province’s assessment of the mine was uncoordinated. The Tsilhqot’in National Government, the federal government and British Columbia each have jurisdiction and responsibilities to review Taseko’s proposal under their respective laws. Yet B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Act did not ensure collaboration among these jurisdictions.

Instead, B.C. took a “go it alone” approach, which is the default under the provincial Act (unless there’s an agreement to the contrary). A modern environmental assessment law must foster collaboration among jurisdictions — with the aim of meeting the highest standard.

Embattled #Taskeo Mine Permits Show Why BC Needs an Environmental Assessment Overhaul https://t.co/m3T6nW0Usi #bcpoli @WCELaw @jjhorgan

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) August 18, 2017

ICYMI: The Fight Over Taseko Mine Permits Issued During Forest Fire Evacuation Just Levelled Up

Perhaps most critically, B.C.’s assessment process failed to ensure respect for Tsilhqot’in rights and the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Tsilhqot’in National Government has been very clear that it rejects Taseko’s proposal because it is inconsistent with responsibilities under Tsilhqot’in law to act as caretakers of the area. The federal assessment found that Taseko’s project would cause significant adverse effects to Tsilhqot’in use of lands and resources, their cultural heritage, and archaeological and historical resources.

Yet B.C.’s assessment process dismissed or overlooked such impacts. The B.C. assessment treated the Tsilhqot’in rejection of the project as an information input, rather than a fundamental issue going to the heart of whether the proposal can proceed.

The B.C. approval also demonstrates that the province’s assessment process is subject to the whims of political decision-makers, rather than firmly rooting decisions in evidence about whether the project will make a positive contribution to sustaining ecosystems and human communities.

The federal assessment found that Taseko’s project would cause unjustified and significant adverse impacts to wetland and riparian ecosystems, fish and fish habitat, and water quality in the impacted lakes. It also found that, without proper mitigation measures, the project would cause harmful cumulative impacts to the region’s moose and grizzly bear populations. Yet the project was approved by B.C.’s ministers without meaningfully addressing such impacts.

This lack of transparent decision-making is not only permitted by B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Act, it is the norm. It is made worse by a lack of robust legal requirements for public participation in provincial environmental assessments.

The result of all these shortcomings has been inefficiency, inconsistency, uncertainty and extensive legal conflict. As the new provincial government begins to implement its welcome mandate to reform our environmental assessment regime, it should keep in mind B.C.’s assessment and approval of Taseko’s New Prosperity mine. It’s a clear example of why we must do better.

Image: Fish Lake near the proposed site of Taseko’s New Prosperity Mine. Photo: Garth Lenz

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Representatives from the Tsilhqot’in National Government were in the B.C. Supreme Court this week asking for an immediate injunction to stop Taseko’s exploratory drilling for the controversial open-pit New Prosperity Mine from beginning August 7.

To the dismay of the Tsilhqot’in, B.C. issued Taseko exploratory permits in the dying days of the former BC Liberal government while the Tsilhqot’in were under a wildfire evacuation order — even though the $1.5 billion gold and copper mine project itself has been twice rejected by the federal government in 2010 and again in 2014.

A court decision on the injunction is expected this week.

But the fight both for and against the permits doesn’t stop there.

Taseko Calls Federal Stop Order ‘Absurd’

The Tsilhqot’in request for an injunction comes as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) has stepped into the fray, issuing a cease and desist order to Taseko, warning any exploratory drilling by Taseko could be in violation of federal environmental laws.

“The agency is of the view that the proposed activities may cause an environmental effect,” says the letter to Taseko, signed by Kristin Coverley, senior compliance enforcement officer.

The order warns that enforcement action may be taken if Taseko does not comply with the CEAA requirements and each day work proceeds will be considered a separate federal offence.

But Taseko is hitting back with claims that the section of the Act cited by CEAA applies only to construction or operation of the mine and not to exploration activities.

“None of the work involves construction or operation of a mine,” says a letter to the agency from John McManus, Taseko’s chief operating officer.

If the CEAA interpretation stood “it would result in absurd and unconstitutional effects,” McManus wrote.

The ruling could put all mining exploration in Canada at risk as it suggests that even preliminary exploration would first need a full federal environmental review, he wrote.

Tsilhqot’in National Government lawyer Jay Nelson said it is hard to imagine that the company would ignore the cease and desist order and start the work at its own risk.

“But it is conceivable that the company could proceed and openly defy the federal regulator,” Nelson told DeSmog Canada.

“We haven’t had any assurance that the company is going to respect that [federal] direction, so there is a risk of harm to the Tsilhqot’in.”

Fish Lake, known as Tetzan Biny to the Tsilhqot’in is considered a sacred cultural place. In its first application for the mine Taseko proposed to use Fish Lake as a tailings pond. In a subsequent application, Taseko redrafted plans to build a tailings impoundment separate from Fish Lake. Both proposals were rejected by the federal government. Photo: Garth Lenz

Tsilhqot’in Hopeful New NDP Government Will Change Fate of Taseko’s Mine

The permits would allow Taseko to build 76 kilometres of trails, drill 122 holes, excavate 367 test pits and cut 20 kilometres of seismic lines in an area of prime cultural importance to the Tsilhqot’in Nation.

The exploration permits place the province firmly at odds with the federal government, which cited severe environmental damage and adverse effects on Tsilhqot’in culture and aboriginal rights when it turned down the mine proposal in both 2010 and 2014.

The controversial permits have landed the new B.C. Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Michelle Mungall with a dilemma.

Mungall was not available for comment but a ministry background statement provided to DeSmog Canada said the timing of the permit decision was unfortunate “but a regional statutory decision maker must balance procedural fairness and the repeated extensions already provided at the request of the Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG).”

Statutory decision makers are independent civil servants, meaning their decisions are not meant to be influenced by political considerations.

Such decisions are not political and are made “solely by the statutory decision maker, who, in this case, was a senior permitting inspector located in Kamloops,” according to the ministry’s statement, which adds that the permits do not authorize Taseko to begin mining at the site and include 37 conditions to address concerns raised by the Tsilhqot’in, including cultural heritage assessments in exploration areas.

B.C. Premier John Horgan’s mandate letter to Mungall emphasizes that the government will be adopting and implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Calls To Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Nelson said he hopes the NDP government will usher in a new attitude towards indigenous people.

“I do really feel that this latest legal skirmish with Taseko hits on the need for a new approach,” he said.

“For all this to go forward for a mine that the federal government has rejected, to inflict that sort of damage on people’s culture and lives seems over the line and shows a disregard of aboriginal interests.”

If exploration goes ahead, but the federal government continues to reject the mine, a large amount of damage will have been done for no reason, he added.

New NDP Government Could Amend, But Not Cancel, Permits: Lawyer

The timing of the provincial permits incensed the Tsilhqot’in Nation, who, for decades, have fought Taseko’s proposal for an open pit gold and copper mine.

Chiefs are now raising questions about the independence of the decision and questioning whether the new NDP government can revoke the permits.

“It just boggles my mind that any statutory decision-maker should make this decision when the Liberals were ending their reign and a new government coming into play,” said Chief Roger William, of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation and vice-chair of the Tsilhqot’in National Government..

“They say it’s non–political, but I will always wonder because it’s a decision we have been waiting for since February this year and the timing makes no sense because of the state of emergency with the fires,” William told DeSmog Canada.

“We are going to be sitting down with (Premier John) Horgan and the ministers. We want to get rid of this issue for once and for all,” he said.

Andrew Gage, West Coast Environmental Law staff counsel, said that, under the Mines Act, it seems clear that, although the permits for the New Prosperity Mine exploration cannot be revoked, they could be amended.

“It gives decision-makers complete freedom to review and revisit issues after licensure and to limit the term of the permit,” he said.

One section of the Act gives the minister the power to take any necessary action.

“If the minister considers it to be necessary in the public interest, the minister, in respect of the issuing of permits, has and may exercise all the powers that the chief inspector may exercise under this Act,” it says.

The provisions of the Act have twice been backed by the B.C. Court of Appeal, Gage said.

That means the minister could step in and take an action such as suspending the permits until the company obtains federal approval, he suggested.

However, it is not known whether Taseko, which previously sued the federal government over its decision to reject the New Prosperity Mine, could sue the province if the permits are changed.

Gage believes Taseko is unlikely to sue under the Mines Act as the wording is solid, but, looking at the company track record, Nelson believes there could be a risk.

“The company certainly sent a message to government that, if the permits weren’t granted, they would be looking at legal action,” Nelson said.

While the Tsilhqot’in people wait for a decision on the injunction, William is wondering what will happen if the work goes ahead.

“If the injunction is not issued, our people are going to take action. Our elders, our youth, our children have been raised in this whole controversy,” he said.

2017 07 28 LT Taseko Response to CEAA Re Notice of Work Activities by DeSmog Canada on Scribd

Ceaa Letter to Taseko – July 28 2017 – New Prosperity – Application of CEAA 2012 by DeSmog Canada on Scribd

Image: A Tsilhqot’in elder at a Fish Lake ceremony. Photo: Garth Lenz

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The Tsilhqot’in First Nation — currently under an evacuation order due to B.C.’s wildfires — learned Monday that permits have been issued for mining company Taseko to conduct exploration for the New Prosperity mine, an open pit gold and copper mine twice rejected at the federal level.

Monday was the outgoing B.C. Liberal government’s final day in power.

Copies of the documentation obtained by DeSmog Canada show the permit was granted to Taseko on Friday July 14th, as members of the Tsilhqot’in were under evacuation orders due to rampant wildfires in central B.C.

“I appreciate this may come at a difficult time for you given the wildfire situation affecting some of your communities, however I made the permit decision Friday, ” Rick Adams, senior inspector with the B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines, told Tsilhqot’in representatives in an e-mail.

“It’s crazy to see that on their last day, they tell us of this decision,” Chief Roger William of the Gwet’in First Nation, one of six member tribes of the Tsilhqot’in, told DeSmog Canada.

“We’re certainly outraged about it,” he said. “Our people, they found out as we’re dealing with fire and now we’re dealing with a three-year drilling program.”

The permits grant Taseko permission to create 76 kilometres of new or modified trails, 122 exploratory drill holes, 367 excavated test pits and 20 kilometres of seismic lines near Fish Lake, also known as Teztan Biny, an area of cultural and spiritual significance for the Tsilhqot’in.

“Our community has been fighting this for over 30 years,” William, who is also vice-chair of the Tsilhqot’in National Government, said. “Fish Lake is an aboriginal rights area, a place we have land rights to, to fish, and hunt, to catch and use wild horses.”

Chris Tollefson, lawyer with the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation, said while there is no rule preventing government from issuing permits during final days in power “there is an obligation on the Crown and on government to conduct itself in a manner that upholds the honour of the Crown.”

Provinces will often issue permits or issue approvals in advance of a federal process, which is intended to signal their support of the proponent, Tollefson told DeSmog Canada.

“During the federal review process they’ll often be a cheerleader for the projects. We’ve seen that regularly in B.C.,” he said.

“What’s unusual here is the federal regulators have been pretty clear this project has some fundamental flaws, so in those circumstances you’d expect the province would take a more circumspect approach when there’s a transition of government and when First Nation rights and title issues are clearly at play.”

According to the Elections B.C. website Taseko donated $123,450 to the B.C. Liberals between 2008 and 2014.

Chief Russell Myers Ross of the Yunesit’in and director of the Tsilhqot’in National Government said he is “speechless at the timing of this insulting decision.”

“It defies compassion that while our people are fighting for our homes and lives, B.C. issues permits that will destroy more of our land beyond repair.”

The New Prosperity mine falls within the Tsilhqot’in Dasiqox Tribal Park, a conservation area the nation has constitutionally protected rights to hunt, fish and trap within.

Granting exploratory permits within Dasiqox “demonstrates a serious attack on meaningful reconciliation,” Ross said in a statement.

The Tsilhqot’in have previously vowed to fight any provincial permits granting Taseko exploratory rights for the mine.

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Two rejections by the federal government have not deterred a Vancouver mining company from again heading to court in an effort to quash Ottawa’s decision to turn down a proposal for an open-pit copper and gold mine in an area where the Tsilhqot’in Nation has established aboriginal rights.

Taseko Mines Ltd. is appearing in Federal Court in Vancouver this week to launch a constitutional challenge to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and ask for a judicial review of the federal government’s decision to reject the proposed $1.5-billion New Prosperity Mine, 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake.

Despite the project gaining provincial approval in 2010, the federal government turned down the proposal in 2010 and 2014, saying there would be severe environmental damage and immitigable adverse effects on Tsilhqot’in culture, heritage and aboriginal rights.

The panel found that Fish Lake, known as Teztan Biny by members of the Tsilhqot’in Nation, had unique cultural importance and would be harmed by the mine. In the first application the company planned to turn the lake into a toxic tailings dump and, although the second application spared the lake, the panel concluded the mine would still have severe impacts.

However, Taseko is arguing that the Environmental Assessment Act, amended in 2012, goes too far in protecting the interests of Aboriginal people according to a Tsilhqot’in news release.

“In essence, the company is attempting to further reduce the protection of our already-gutted federal environmental laws, particularly as they apply to aboriginal people,” it says.

The company, in its application, says the review panel erred in the evidence it considered and that the company was not given an opportunity to challenge that evidence.

It is frustrating that the nation has to continue spending time and money fighting Taseko, said a Tsilhqot’in spokesman.

“After two federal rejections, this company still tries to bulldoze ahead and cause destruction in our territory,” Chief Roger William, vice-chair of the Tsilhqot’in National Government, said in a news release.

“For the past decade we have opposed Taseko Mines in the strongest terms and it is time they finally understood our position — simply stated, we do not consent,” he said.

The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs is supporting the Tsilqhot’in people in their battle, said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, UBCIC president.

“This is an arrogant and unrepentant company that has not learned its lesson, despite not one, but two scathing federal rejections by the Harper government, the most pro-industry and anti-First Nations government in memory,” Phillip said.

“We will continue to completely support the Tsilhaqot’in as they do what it takes to lay this wretched, destructive and highly offensive mine proposal to rest for once and for all,” he said.

The area gained additional significance in 2014 when the Supreme Court of Canada, for the first time in Canadian history, recognized aboriginal title on about 1,750 square kilometers of Tsilhqot’in Nation land — a decision that reframed the way resource companies and governments dealt with First Nations.

The mine is outside the title territory, but in an area of proven aboriginal rights, according to the Tsilhqot’in. It is part of the Dasiqox Tribal Park, created in 2014.

In an additional wrinkle, which will again draw the provincial government into the fray, despite a 2016 agreement to work on reconciliation, Taseko has applied to the province for a permit to start exploratory drilling.

The exploration would be extensive with road building, drilling, seismic line testing  and construction of a 50-man camp. The company has said it wants to be ready to start construction of the mine before the amended B.C. permit expires in 2020, but the exploration is strongly opposed by the Tsilhqot’in.

“[Taseko’s] permit application ignores all findings against the proposed mine. It is an insult to Tsilhqot’in and the rule of law,” William said.

Spokesmen for the Ministry of Energy and Mines did not reply to questions about the permit by deadline.

Taseko documents show the company has spent more than $130-million trying to develop the mine. The area is believed to be the largest undeveloped gold/copper deposit in North America and the company claims that, once in production, it would produce 250,000 ounces of gold and 110-million pounds of copper annually for 20 years.

Image: Taseko Mines rendering of the New Prosperity mine project. 

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