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TUESDAY MARCH 27, 2012
Proudly serving Williams Lake and the Cariboo-Chilcotin since 1930
VOL. 82. No. 25
Man’s death MacLeod a difference maker suspicious RCMP are treating the death of 61-year-old male near Meldrum Creek as suspicious. On March 18, Williams Lake RCMP attended a residence located at the 200 marker of the 100 Road near Meldrum Creek after a passerby observed a vehicle broken down with a sign on it asking for someone to call 911 or the RCMP. The Williams Lake RCMP attended a nearby cabin and located two men in the residence. A 61-year-old male was found deceased and, due to the circumstances surrounding his death, the North District Major Crime Unit (MCU) and Forensic Identification Section (FIS) were called to assist with the investigation. Alexis Creek RCMP are assisting with the investigation as the location of the property is situated in the rural area north east of Alexis Creek. A forensic autopsy was scheduled for Friday, March 23 in Kamloops. The name of deceased will not be released at this time due to the wishes of the family.
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Greg Sabatino photo
Horsefly’s Bruce MacLeod (middle) has his arm raised in recognition by the Man in Motion himself, Rick Hansen, Sunday afternoon at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex. MacLeod was the final medal bearer for the End of Day Celebration which featured speeches from local dignitaries and lots of entertainment, including from guitar genius Don Alder (left). Hansen’s relay departs from Williams Lake this morning at 9:45 a.m. from Williams Lake secondary. See pages A3, A4, and A19 for more photos.
Inside the Tribune NEWS Two arrested for assault.
A2
SPORTS A9 Hansen goes back to school. COMMUNITY TRU gala Saturday.
A12
Weather outlook: Increasing cloudiness this morning, high of 10 C. Cloudy/chance of showers Wednesday, high of 11 C.
Defence papers filed following Taseko claim Erin Hitchcock Tribune Staff Writer The Wilderness Committee’s lawyer filed defence papers with the Supreme Court of British Columbia Thursday in response to Taseko Mines Ltd.’s Notice of Civil Claim that had been served on the committee earlier this month. Taseko’s claim accuses the committee and its outreach director Sven Biggs for “a series of false and defamatory statements concerning Taseko and its proposed New Prosperity Gold-Copper Project.” According to Taseko’s claim, some of the alleged defamatory statements include: Taseko’s original proposal was to use Fish Lake as its tailings pond, where the com-
pany would store toxic waste rock produced by its mining operations; Taseko’s engineers offered Little Fish Lake as an alternate site for the tailings pond; that the toxins from the Little Fish Lake site would make their way downstream to Fish Lake; and that the new mine plan that Taseko seeks approval for proposes to turn Little Fish Lake into a toxic tailings pond. “Taseko welcomes a full, thorough and open process to evaluate the merits of New Prosperity project, which we believe will be a big win for British Columbia, First Nations and Canada,” says Russell Hallbauer, CEO of Taseko, in a March 1 news release. “We cannot, however, stand idly by when certain parties such as the Western Canada
Wilderness Committee mislead the public about the project. The facts do matter. All parties benefit from an open and fair discussion of the facts, not false, misleading and harmful inaccuracies.” According to the committee’s response to civil claim papers, “the defendants say that this defamation action is without merit, and that based upon the plaintiff’s own public statements and prior environmental review panel conclusions, the words complained of are not defamatory and are in any event protected by the defences of truth, fair comment or responsible communications; and that this action should be dismissed with special costs against the plaintiff for attempting to use the litigation pro-
cess to silence critics on a matter of fundamental public interest.” Dan Burnett, the committee’s lawyer, in a news release, says: “What the Wilderness Committee is asking the courts to do in its filed Response to the Claim is uphold the Wilderness Committee’s right to free speech on this important environmental issue, dismiss the action and impose extra court costs upon Taseko for attempting to use the litigation process to silence critics.” To view Taseko’s claim, visit http://www.issuu.com/wlteditor/ docs/taseko-notice-of-civil-claim. To view the committee’s defence papers, visit http://www.issuu.com/ wlteditor/docs/response_to_civil_ claim.