The Tribune attended the New Prosperity gold-copper project open house at the Gibraltar Room Monday afternoon (another one was held later in the evening, after Tribune deadlines).
The open house was not only informative but also allowed people to ask specific questions of Taseko Mines Ltd.’s staff.
We completely respect the opinions of others who are either for or against this project, but note there is a difference between fact and opinion.
From a journalism perspective, it can be very frustrating when the facts are ignored, misinterpreted, or downright twisted. We imagine it is frustrating for others, too.
That is why it was so great to see and hear all of the information provided at the open houses yesterday. We hope that they will help quell at least some of the misconceptions of the project.
And yes, the open houses were open to anyone who wanted to attend, opponents of the mine included.
A comment was recently made on our website that it shouldn’t be called an open house when one party is involved and has no intentions to discuss the negative impacts or invite any parties who are against the mine to speak with company representatives.
We would argue that the whole community had an opportunity to be involved — the afternoon open house was quite open and informal, anyone could attend either session, and anyone could discuss impacts, positive or negative, with Taseko staff.
Kudos to Taseko for holding the open houses, which continue in 100 Mile House today.
Those who missed them will still have an opportunity to attend the environmental review panel hearings expected to be held later this year.