Mining and Energy

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Taseko’s Tactics Demonstrate Why New Prosperity Must Fail
May 1, 2012 – Esk’etemc

Esk’etemc Nation is shocked and disappointed at the Taseko’s call to the government to ban any exercise of Aboriginal spirituality during the New Prosperity Federal Panel Review.  The behaviour of Taseko Mines demonstrates a fundamental lack of willingness to understand First Nation’s concerns about the effects of the New Prosperity project on Aboriginal rights and title, according to Chief Robbins of Esk’etemc. 

“Taseko’s call to the Crown to ban First Nation’s prayers and ceremonies from the Federal Review Panel is not just offensive to First Nations,” says the Chief, “but it is an attempt to belittle the sacred relationship First Nations have with our lands, which provides us with our identity as Aboriginal peoples. It is also another attempt by Taseko to proceed as if we weren’t even here.”

“At the most basic level” says Chief Robbins, “our ability as First Nations people to survive is dependant on the lands and waters providing us with the necessities of life.  How we govern our communities comes from a place of thanksgiving to the Creator for providing us with the lands and resources we need to exercise our rights.” 
The attempted interference by Taseko with First Nation’s participation in the Review, however, is nothing new to the Aboriginal communities involved in the fight to protect their lands and waters from destruction.  For Esk’etemc, the comments made by Taseko simply display the reason that the New Prosperity project is doomed to fail from the Aboriginal perspective: 
Taseko has again designed the Project without talking to First Nations, and is acting as if First Nations don’t exist.  The EIS is soon to be due, but Esk’etemc Nation has yet to be asked by Taseko for its views on how the Project will affect its rights.

Says Chief Robbins, “Taseko’s approach is based on the false presumption that the Project will not devastate our culture, and will not result in significant losses which cannot be accommodated.”   Instead, says Chief Robbins, “Taseko is content to ignore the impacts to our ability as Aboriginal peoples to maintain a spiritual connection to our lands and waters, which is integral to our concepts of ownership and the exercise of our rights. There is no honour in that.”

Esk’etemc Nation is shocked and disappointed at the Taseko’s call to the government to ban any exercise of Aboriginal spirituality during the New Prosperity Federal Panel Review.  The behaviour of Taseko Mines demonstrates a fundamental lack of willingness to understand First Nation’s concerns about the effects of the New Prosperity project on Aboriginal rights and title, according to Chief Robbins of Esk’etemc.

Poisoned Relationships

This weekend I was provided with a letter that Taseko Mines President Russ Hallbauer sent to Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent last November. The letter was sent in advance of the new panel hearings into Taseko’s proposed Prosperity Project. Unfortunately, the letter clearly illustrates why the Tsilhqot’in (TNG) will fight, with every means available to them, Taseko’s right to the “Prosperity” ore body on their traditional territory. It also illustrates why some First Nations’ leaders are saying Prosperity is not only the wrong project, but the wrong company.

The letter asks Minister Kent, under threat of legal action by Taseko, to ensure that no First Nations person is put on the new review panel, to disallow any ceremonial activities during the panel hearings (drumming and prayers), to not allow children to demonstrate their concerns through plays, and to reject spirituality as a consideration in the mine proposal. The letter argues that emotional displays like drumming and children’s plays will, consciously or unconsciously, sway the panel in favour of the First Nations and against the “science” of Taseko’s case.

Taseko’s New Prosperity project overview, a public document, states: “the Tsilhqot'in have expressed the importance of the island in Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) as a place of spiritual power and healing.” Meanwhile, the private letter to Minister Kent states that the review panel “does not have any right to attribute significance to the spirituality of a place per se.” The company president’s letter does, however, acknowledge that the Supreme Court of Canada recognizes “custom, practice and tradition” that are “distinctive [to] aboriginal culture” as rights under the law.

Suggesting that spirituality can be divorced from “customs, practices and traditions” reflects a narrow view of First Nations’ culture. Anyone who has spent any time with First Nations elders or in a First Nations community knows that spirituality infuses their “customs, practices and traditions.” The drumming that Taseko would like the panel to disallow is a spiritual custom and practice; it’s not done for entertainment.

The Tsilhqot’in’s relationship with the land and its resources is spiritual, and according to Taseko’s public documents, it supposedly understands this fact. To suggest that this spiritual relationship with the land should be stripped from any presentations made by First Nations to the Prosperity Review Panel reveals either a deep ignorance of First Nations culture on the part of Taseko’s president or a deliberate attempt to undermine the TNG’s claim. One of the most compelling findings of the first panel was the TNG’s spiritual relationship with Fish Lake and its environs, and this was a major consideration in the conclusion to reject Taseko’s initial proposal.

I’ve warned Taseko on a number of occasions that they need to rethink their relationship with the TNG. I’ve even asked that they appoint new people to the project who will take a totally different approach to the TNG, one that is more respectful and more productive. Taseko’s provincial Environmental Assessment Certificate is predicated on maintaining “early, open, and full communication with First Nations,” recognizing and taking “into consideration the value and significance First Nations place on traditional, cultural and heritage knowledge and interest,” and developing “mutually beneficial partnerships with our First Nations neighbours.” I’m no lawyer, but if Taseko persists in poisoning their relationship with the TNG, then they may make themselves susceptible to a legal challenge against their provincial approvals.

Even in the highly politicized and deeply emotional debate surrounding the Gateway pipeline hearings, Enbridge has not challenged the First Nations’ right to incorporate their cultural practices into the hearing process. The pipeline hearings open with drumming and prayers, children are allowed to participate, and elders speak freely of their spiritual connection to the landbase that the pipeline will cross. Privately arguing that the Prosperity Panel should negate the TNG’s ability to freely express their deep and spiritual connection to the Fish Lake area will not help Taseko reach its ultimate goal – in fact, it will do the exact opposite.

The TNG have publicly stated they are not opposed to mining in their traditional territory. Other mining companies have been able to develop productive relationships with the TNG and other First Nations in the area. In particular, the Williams Lake Indian Band is breaking new ground on building relationships in the very early stages of project development. If Taseko chose to build a more constructive relationship with the TNG, would that not better serve the interests of the company and the interests of their shareholders?

To be fair to Taseko, the federal and provincial governments are ultimately to blame for many of the problems we have in addressing First Nations’ rights and title issues in project approval processes. Rights and title can only be resolved by the Crown outside of these processes. The only way to truly foster productive relationships between companies and First Nations is by resolving rights and title claims. Otherwise, the uncertainty associated with the assertion of First Nations’ rights ends up poisoning both the project approval process and the relationship that companies can have with First Nations in BC.

The Taseko Mines letter is available here.

Best regards,
Stephen Harrison
Legislative Assistant
Bob Simpson, Independent MLA, Cariboo North
250-387-8347
stephen.harrison@leg.bc.ca
http://bobsimpsonmla.ca/

This weekend I was provided with a letter that Taseko Mines President Russ Hallbauer sent to Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent last November. The letter was sent in advance of the new panel hearings into Taseko’s proposed Prosperity Project. Unfortunately, the letter clearly illustrates why the Tsilhqot’in (TNG) will fight, with every means available to them, Taseko’s right to the “Prosperity” ore body on their traditional territory. It also illustrates why some First Nations’ leaders are saying Prosperity is not only the wrong project, but the wrong company.

This is the outcome for the Ditni Yoh Green Energy project that was to be located 26 kilometres East of Burns Lake. The project was submitted to BC Hydro’s phase two call for bioenergy, making it through to be one of seven that were short listed, but was not chosen in the final round. The four projects chosen are located in Fort St. James, Fraser Lake, Merritt and Chetwynd.

Ditni Yoh was to be a $140 million investment in the local area that would have provided between 20 and 60 full time jobs. The proposed 35 megawatt plant would have produced enough energy to supply power to 33,000 homes, which was more power than Burns Lake required from a residential standpoint, so the majority of the power was to go back to the grid.  This is the second blow for the project. It was originally submitted to BC Hydro in 2008 as part of the phase one call for bioenergy and was also passed over.

The phase two submission had been revamped and new partnerships had been formed between Western BioEnegry Inc. who is a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Dalkia Canada, and six local First Nations groups collectively called the Lakes District Native Economic Development Corporation. The six First Nations include; the Burns Lake Band, Lake Babine Nation, Skin Tyee Nation, Nee Tahi Buhn Band and the Stellat’en First Nation. Harvie Campbell, director of Western BioEnergy Inc. who was working on the project said he is very disappointed that the project was not chosen to move forward.

“It is a personal disappointment as so many good friends including First Nations and local councillors worked to move the project forward,” he said. Campbell said it was a competitive process and Ditni Yoh was not chosen as the fibre supply costs were too high.

“The fibre sources for the four projects that were chosen were less expensive than they were for Ditni Yoh, but not by much, which made them more attractive to BC Hydro.” Campbell said for now it is tools down for the project but he went on to say that if the opportunity presents itself in the future the project could be resurrected.

“We are still prepared to support the project. It is very unfortunate because it was a very good, solid project and it had a lot of community support behind it.”

“We did everything we could think of [to have the project selected].” However all is not lost for Western BioEnergy Inc. with two of their  three short listed projects selected in the final four. The Merritt Green Energy Project and the Fort St. James Green Energy project will surge ahead now that BC Hydro approval has been given.

“The region did not completely lose out because the West Fraser Mills Ltd. Fraser Lake Sawmill Biomass project was chosen as one of the four,” Campbell said, adding that it is still a blow to Burns Lake.
Burns Lake Band Chief Albert Gerow said to Lakes District News that he is equally disappointed the Ditni Yoh project was not chosen.

In a media release he said Ditni Yoh would have had an initial injection into the local economy of $140 million dollars along with significant construction jobs, long term plant jobs, as well as fibre supply jobs. “Spin off opportunities would have been significant.”
He continued to say, the community of Burns Lake is heavily dependent upon the forest industry. “By adding a bioenergy plant to the Lakes District, alongside Babine Forest Products and Decker Lake Forest Products, it would have helped to stabilize the local economy by adding some diversification.”

“All this is now lost due to the decision of BC Hydro.”

“This is a project that has been in the works for over four years. When BC Hydro first started the Green Energy Initiatives, First Nations were not even considered as potential partners or even on the radar screen. Then BC Hydro came back with call for proposals which had a requirement to include First Nations.”

We felt that the Ditni Yoh project would be a shoe in, because not only did we have First Nations participation, but we had a total of six First Nations as potential partners.”
Chief Gerow said that having secured a 400,000 m3 annual license from the Ministry of Forests, as well as secure backing from Western BioEnergy Inc. and Dalkia Canada as well as the participation of six First Nations should be a feather in the cap of BC Hydro, to show that they are working with First Nations.

He said, “Burns Lake was the epicenter of the worst natural disaster B.C. forests have ever seen and something I would not want our grandchildren’s, grandchildren to experience. The unprecedented attack on lodge pole pine trees by the mountain pine beetle devastated the forests in the Lakes District. Lakes District forest alone have had 80 per cent of the pine trees killed, provincially over 17 million hectares has been decimated.”

“The bioenergy plant which we worked on for Burns Lake would have  been a healing process in utilizing some of the beetle killed trees in a beneficial way.”  Chief Gerow said he will now be working with consultants to determine where to go with the project.

“Obviously I hope that we can come to an early resolution with the cooperation of BC Hydro,” said Chief Gerow, adding that he will now be approaching BC Hydro asking for an explanation, despite hearing that the project was denied due to fibre supply costs. Chief Gerow also said he will be taking the matter to Nechako Lakes MLA, John Rustad.