Editor:
I, like other residents of Likely, am very sad and disappointed that so many are injured in their livelihoods and future health by Mount Polley Mine’s ongoing breach disaster.
I only wish there was an Erin Brockovitch-type person dedicated enough to change some of the effects of it, and get questions answered.
Have the professionals been listened to before the breach?
Did some uneducated people decide to go by the philosophy “loads before roads” for mine production?
Is there documented proof that the professionals were well aware of the dam’s breaches and lack of free board?
Is there an implied gag order for mine workers?
Can professional people assure us that fish will not eventually absorb the (green water) copper and heavy metals from the tailings?
Will this mess with their health and senses?
Were tested fish in Polley Lake showing an adhesion of their livers to their intestines instead of being healthy and fit?
What can they tell us about the affects on humans, birds and animals who consume these fish?
Has it been explained why all the highly-expensive cosmetics being done by hard-working crews and contractors is more important than recovering the poisons and metals?
I’ve talked to people I trust who have gone to the schools of experience and common sense. Almost two years ago some told us what would happen to Hazeltine Creek if safety did not become more important than production.
I trust someone who warns, not who causes.
It was, in my opinion, an “Act of God” that no human was killed when Hazeltine Creek roared into Quesnel Lake.
It was not, however, an “Act of God” causing this ongoing disaster, but acts of neglect of those who will one day face the God they blame.
I also would like to see the mine operating again because people need honest work.
This disaster, though, needs to be remembered daily and avoided in the future.
It should never have a polite face painted on it when Quesnel Lake has been poisoned.
People were here before mine workers and employees so they are not the only or most important people in Likely.
Food for thought: go to The Fifth Estate website and look up “Silence of the Labs.”
Deanna MacBurney
Forty-five-year resident in Likely