WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2014
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PROUDLY SERVING KIMBERLEY AND AREA SINCE 1932 | Vol. 82, Issue 174 | www.dailybulletin.ca
Kimberley’s Platzl was alive with activity again this past weekend as another First Saturday was celebrated. Above, Amy Martin teaches a hula hoop session.
JOHN ALLEN PHOTO
Political war of words over Mount Polley spill Premier should hold Minister Bill Bennett accountable, Macdonald says; Bennett vows to resign if his Ministry found negligent C AROLYN GR ANT Bulletin Editor
Two old political foes are going at it again over the Mt. Polley tailings spill. Columbia River Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald, Mines and Energy critic for the NDP, is calling on Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett to step aside and Bennett
PHOTO SUBMITTED
MLA Norm Macdonald, energy and mines critic for the NDP, toured the Mount Polley mine site last week. has said that he will resign — if his Ministry is found negligent. Macdonald has just
returned from a trip to Quesnel Lake, Polley Lake and the Mount Polley mine site.
“We had a tour of the lakes, saw where the debris and tailings went in,” he said. “We trav-
elled by boat over a vast plume of material suspended in the water. “Until you see it, it’s difficult to comprehend the scope of the vast amount of material that left the tailings enclosure” Macdonald was also given a tour of the mine site itself and attended a public meeting held by Imperial Metals, the mine’s owner. He says there is tremendous distrust among community members about what they are being told, and frustration over the lack of solid information. And that’s on the BC Liberals, Macdonald says. “In response to this crisis, the BC Liberals are doing what they always do. Just like their response to the mill ex-
“I have stated publicly that if the independent investigation proves that my ministry was negligent and caused this accident, I will take personal responsibility for my ministry and resign.” Minister Bill Bennett
plosions in Burns Lake and Prince George, where people lost their lives, they try to pretend that they are not responsible. They claim they have the best regulations in the world, and what occurred was beyond their control. “The Mount Polley breach was not an accident. The area was not subject to a catastroph-
ic weather event. There was no earthquake. There is no suggestion of an act of terror. It simply failed. “And Bill Bennett, the Minister responsible for mines, knew there were real concerns with the Mount Polley tailings enclosure prior to the breach, yet he did nothing. See page 4