Xat'sull First Nations/WL Indian Band express concern over recent comments from WL Mayor Walt Cobb

Courtesy of the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council:

Tuesday, October 6th, 2015

Leaders of the Xat’sull First Nation (“XFN”) and Williams Lake Indian Band (“WLIB”) today issued a statement expressing concern over comments made by Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb in a recent CBC interview regarding a UBCM resolution proposing an environmental bill of rights. In particular, XFN and WLIB are dismayed by Mayor Cobb’s statements during the course of that interview that downplay the impacts of the Mount Polley Mine dam failure.

According to Mayor Cobb, the August 4, 2014 release of approximately 17 million cubic meters of water and 8 million cubic meters of tailings/materials into the Quesnel Lake watershed, an area important for salmon spawning and with great First Nations cultural value, does not constitute an environmental disaster. Mayor Cobb compared the Mount Polley event to a mudslide on the Sea-to-Sky Highway and stated, “The stuff that came out of there was water. There were no chemicals in that water.”

Water quality sampling to date has shown elevated levels of potentially harmful substances, including copper, in the receiving environment post-breach. Ongoing monitoring and assessment is being undertaken by the Mine and the Province, with input from XFN and WLIB and their team of experts, to better understand the impacts of the spill, both chemical and otherwise.

“Mayor Cobb’s comments excessively minimize the scope and gravity of the Mount Polley incident,” states WLIB Chief, Ann Louie. “This was no mere mudslide – it was a disaster that resulted in the complete evacuation of mine-related water and slurry from a tailings storage facility that was nearly four square kilometres in size. There have been relatively few incidents of this magnitude in the world, and so proper diligence must be exercised and appropriate research must be conducted before we can draw any conclusions about the possible long-term effects of the Mount Polley disaster. I would submit that Mayor Cobb’s statements are thoroughly misleading, and that they will only service to foment anger and division within our community, and in this country in general. We should not be denying the significance of this event – we should be working together, meaningfully and determinedly, to ensure it is fully understood and that best practices for remediation and restoration are implemented. ”

Both XFN and WLIB recognize the need to align resource extraction practices with more reasonable standards for environmental stewardship. “Our First Nations are not interested in stifling the economy in the Cariboo, or anywhere else,” adds XFN Chief, Donna Dixon. “We do, however, acknowledge that there are numerous shortcomings in existing environmental legislation, policy and standards. We need to renovate this framework to create a more viable and sustainable system. I don’t think that this position is unreasonable. It is a goal that we believe should be shared by all British Columbians. We only have a future, economic or otherwise, if we exercise proper stewardship of our lands and our resources.”

For more information on this media release, or the WLIB and XFN response to the Mount Polley disaster, please contact Julia Banks, XFN Natural Resources Manager, at (250) 989-2323 or Aaron Higginbottom, WLIB Natural Resources Manager, at (250) 296-3507