Shuswap
Locally Owned & Operated
Your Classified Connection / Vol. 25 No. 33 Aug. 15, 2014
1701 10 Ave SW, Salmon Arm • (250) 832-5333
Market News
Neskonlith issues eviction notice
Inside Shuswap
Imperial Metals: Band cites need for environmental protection of Adams River.
A3
By Barb Brouwer
Roots and Blues
Festival opens this evening at fairgrounds. Plus South Shuswap A8 Calendar A13
Chase
21 Cornstock
Event celebrates a summer favourite. Plus Chase Heat 22 What’s On 22
Flyers z Askew’s z Blind Bay Village Grocer* z Canadian Tire* z Coopers* z Home Depot* z Home Hardware* z London Drugs* z No Frills* z Okanagan College* z Peoples Drug Mart* z Pharmasave* z Real Estate z Rona* z Superstore* z Safety Mart* z Safeway z Save On Foods* z Sears* z Shoppers Drug Mart* z Source* z Sport Chek* z Staples* z Visions z Walmart* *Limited distribution
MARKET NEWS STAff
There will be no second chances if the Secwepemc First Nations has their way. Neskonlith Band Chief Judy Wilson issued an eviction notice Wednesday to Imperial Metals, owner of the Ruddock Creek Mine high above the headwaters of the Adams River. Wilson does not buy into the province’s assurance that all environmental assessments are rigorous. The eviction from land the Neskonlith claim to own under aboriginal title is a response to the recent Mt. Polley tailings pond disaster. It was a “catastrophic breach” that Wilson says could have been prevented had Imperial Metals had proper risk management practices in place and federal and provincial governments properly assessed and monitored the operation. Imperial Metals representatives did not return calls for comment by press time. Wilson charges that, due to prior inaction on the part of everyone involved, the flow of the breach has not yet been stopped, with toxic substances continuing to discharge into the environment. “The result is long-term impacts on our Secwepemc lands, waters and the health of our people,” wrote Wilson in the Aug. 12 eviction notice, charging the company has significantly contributed to the cumulative impact for all Secwepemc people. “Imperial Metals cannot be allowed to cause any further impacts
filE phoTo
n A view from the Ruddock Creek Mine, as taken in 2008 before Selkirk Mines sold the zinc-lead mining operation to Imperial Metals, Mitsui Mining and Smelting Company Ltd. and Itochu Corporation. in Secwepemculecw,” she writes, pointing to the importance of Adams River sockeye salmon to the livelihoods of many Indigenous peoples in the B.C. Interior. Wilson laments the federal government’s decision last month to forego an environmental assessment for Ruddock Creek, deferring it to the province to perform a single assessment – this despite vigorous opposition from several Shuswap bands. “Imperial Metals has already been discharging water from their exploratory mining activities into
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CANADA-WIDE CLEARANCE!!
UP TO
PURCHASE FINANCING
this extremely sensitive watershed and the habitat of the Adams River sockeye salmon…” she wrote, noting First Nations’ responsibility to protect the land for future generations and the need to refuse any mining development, particularly in the sacred headwaters of the Adams River. Wilson points out the Neskonlith band has neither given their consent to, nor signed any agreements with the province or the company and assert Secwepemc “inherent jurisdiction and aboriginal title” to bar Imperial Metals owners, employ-
84 MONTHS*
ees, insurers and investors from accessing Shuswap territory. “Our elders stated they do not want anything that poisons our water or salmon,” Wilson wrote, noting Neskonlith band members have made a declaration opposing the Ruddock Creek Mine and held water ceremonies to protect the water and salmon. “Our council stands with our elders and people – we oppose the proposed Ruddock Creek Mine by Imperial Metals and hereSee B.C. on page 2
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