Editor:
In recent issues of the Tribune I note that a couple of writers are expressing concerns about mine development.
Writer Bill Lloyd with a series of articles as representative of the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society, the CCCS.
The very interesting thing about Bill Lloyd as part of the CCCS, is that his father was one of the early 1940s to 60s prospectors that originally staked mining claims at Fish Lake leading to the current mining interest in Fish Lake.
I am a firm believer that where any group has, or believe they have, evidence of some weakness or fault in the environmental processes regarding any proposed development, that it becomes a responsibility and a priority of that group to present such information to the developers of that project.
The developer can then have their engineering department study that information, and if the information is valid, and there is an environmental hazard, the mining company can take the necessary steps to address the issues presented.
Posting the concerns in the news media as a series of articles, seems to me, to have only one purpose, that purpose is to weaken and undermine genuine scientific and environmental work, and is an attempt to make the mining company look like some sort of evil rogue in the community.
I would compare that to gossiping about a neighbour, until the mining company has had a fair chance to study and evaluate these claims.
Such claims as presented by the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society, in my opinion, at this point in time, are just baseless public airing of unfounded gossip.
Writer Chris Hornby regurgitates old accidental mining spills. My gosh, how many times must we have our noses rubbed in the accidents of the past?
Certainly these examples of environmental spills did occur, however, it is our responsibility in our time, to move forward and demand that measures are in place to prevent a repeat of such accidents.
Moving away from mining and environmental spills, regardless of all of man’s current best efforts we are still having environmental accidents on our highways, such as the recent serious semi unit accident at Wildwood.
Regretfully accidents do happen, what is important here, let’s do all we can to insure every measure is in place to prevent them, and then as quickly as possible, deal with them.
Doug Wilson
Williams Lake