My name is Sharon Primeau; . This submission represents my personal opinions and those of my immediate family. I speak independently and make no claim to represent anyone else. I have been gathering and working with natural foods and medicines most of those years. I understand the practical as well as the economic values of many of our regional species, as I have used them and seen them in use, and observed their popularity mushroom as mainstream society begins to understand the value of basic traditional remedies such as arnica, balm of gilead from poplar, chaga from birch trees, and many others. My mother, , used to tell me about the fishing and the natural beauty of Teztan Biny. Although I had never been there until recently, I have always known it was part of my traditional Tsilqot’in territory, a place which was important to many of my family members, and which I always looked forward to someday visiting. Recently when I have been to Teztan Biny I have noticed especially the wetlands and the nearness of this high valley to the Taseko River. Walking around the area I realized there are many reasons why our people have loved and used this area since time immemorial. Besides the well known and plentiful fish which gave the lake its name, there is a variety of other values in the area including wildlife habitat, natural edibles and medicinals including Rosehip, Saskatoon, strawberries, blueberries, high bush cranberries, crowberries, miniature raspberries which grow in the meadows, Raspberries, mountain potatoes, 2 species of labrador tea, several kinds of different willow (red willow, green willow), shrubs of different species for medicine, green plants, strawberry vines , tubers (fireweed, Indian hellebore) medicine trees including balsam, spruce, juniper, white bark pine (pinion pine nuts). There are different species for natural paint, sedge grass, a few lilies, arnica, many species of flowers. This is not a complete list by any means but indicates the wealth of natural values around Teztan Biny, many of which have helped sustain our people for hundreds if not thousands of years. These plants grow in the valleys, the hills, the mountains, the marsh, the meadows, the wetlands and among the spruce and pine trees. One of the most important resources anywhere in the world is water. Looking at the Prosperity Mine proposal, I cannot see how pollution from the huge amount of tailings can be contained forever. The recent earthquake in Haida Gwaii and “Frankenstorm” Sandy remind us that nature is as powerful here as in other parts of the world. Man made structures cannot be guaranteed to survive seismic forces or super storms. The disappearance of the hot water supplying the springs in Gwai Hanaas demonstrates how quickly things can change. I do not believe there is any reliable science which can tell us today where that water is now going, much less predict any such event before it takes place. The recent floods in Alberta and Toronto and the train disaster which devastated Lac Megantic are harsh reminders of what nature is capable of and how easily human error or negligence can cause enormous damage. It is my understanding that Taseko Mines has no contingency plans for any failure in their storage system, whether caused by weather conditions, seismic activity or human error. These systems must continue to be completely secure until long after the mine is finished. In all probability, even without a catastrophic event, there will be leaching into the water table, which will not only affect the immediate area but the Taseko, which endangers the whole Chilco/Chilcotin system and of course, the Fraser. Taseko has no way to guarantee this will not be the case. Fraser River salmon have more than enough to contend with already, as do those who depend on them for sustenance, and all other users of the Fraser’s waters. I once heard Brian Battison of Taseko Mines state on CBC radio “there are plenty of Fish Lakes.” However true that may be, there is only one Teztan Biny. One only needs to be there for a few minutes to understand why it is a sacred place to my nation! Asking that spiritual values (which are by definition unique cultural features) be removed from the discussion is ludicrous! These are integral parts of most First Nations’ identities! The leaked letter from Taseko CEO Russell Hallbauer to Environment Minister Peter Kent is far from the only demonstration of the disrespect this company and its supporters have showed towards the Tsilqot’in and to First Nations in general. Taseko spokespersons have publicly misrepresented our resistance as simply coming from a few “radical” chiefs, when in fact there is a near consensus throughout our territory, and the chiefs are properly representing our people. I know of only one Tsilqot’in who has endorsed the proposal, the former chief of my own band, who has lost the past two band elections, the most recent time running on a platform of support for the mine; and has been complaining recently that no one in the Tsilqot’in Nation will talk with him any more since he took that position. He has inspired several gatherings of our young people to contradict his position that they have no future without the mine. Taseko people, and BC Government ministers including former premier Gordon Campbell, have patronized us and made public statements which indicate they know nothing about the Tsilqot’in. They have acted as if the mine proposal is our only hope for economic development and employment, as if we have no ideas or plans of our own, including sustainable long term opportunities which will continue to develop long after the 20 to 30 years the mine would be there, and with none of the environmental damage and cultural disruption the mine would bring. Premier Christy Clark as well as former Williams Lake mayor and others have attempted to go behind closed doors in Ottawa to reverse the decision of the panel on the first Prosperity proposal for political reasons. Premier Clark was still publicly supporting such a reversal only days before Taseko’s new proposal was released. These facts demonstrate the failure of Taseko and the BC government to deal with the Tsilqot’in in good faith and with respect. It almost impossible to imagine any working relationship between Taseko and the Tsilqot’in. The scale of this proposal would do immense harm to other values, including (but hardly limited to) sustainable economic opportunities, which are opening up as urban populations become more welcoming markets for natural and traditional foods and medicinals, and cultural and ecologically sound tourism. The safety and security of nearby residents would be threatened by vastly increased traffic and by the influx of outsiders, whose housing would also create problems with water, sewage, garbage, and noise which I have not seen Taseko address. In other areas of the Cariboo mine exploration has coincided with increased vandalism to private property and disrespectful treatment of special places eg garbage dumped out on beaches. I’ve been told by Alexandria Band members that dust from the Gibraltar Mine has interfered with traditional gathering areas miles across the Fraser River from the mine, yet the same company expects us to believe there will be no big issues with dust at Teztan Biny. The New Prosperity proposal would destroy Teztan Biny for all practical purposes including long term economic opportunities, as well as damaging wildlife habitat and threatening water systems all the way to the Salish Sea. I have been taught by my elders to try to consider the consequences and results of our actions and decisions on the next seven generations. I have asked Brian Battison on CBC Radio to explain how this proposal will benefit all those seven generations. So far, I have heard nothing from Taseko Mines to show they even understand the concept! I would ask the panel to reject this proposal based on both aboriginal rights and title, and on environmental protection. It is not worth creating a long term economic drain and possible ecological disaster for the sake of a few years of profits. The gold is not going anywhere (and neither are the Tsilqot’in!), and perhaps in future a less damaging way can be found to exploit this resource. ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents/p63928/91074E.pdf
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 02:30:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015