KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK TUESDAY
LOCAL NEWS
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MAY 31, 2016 | Volume 29 No. 65
PAIR NOW IN COURT TODAY’S WEATHER
Sunny and warm High 26 C Low 12 C
LINING UP TO LEND A HAND IN EVAN’S RECOVERY
Couple arrested in Vernon following Friday frenzy
Evan Mutrie’s friends, family hoping change of scenery will boost outlook
A3
A23
Optics mean $8K donation rejected ANDREA KLASSEN
STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
SO LONG, STUART
Principal Blair Lloyd and staff and students of Stuart Wood elementary prepare to say goodbye to the school as it closes next month. The school has been a fixture in downtown Kamloops since 1907. A public open house will be held at the school on Thursday. DAVE EAGLES/KTW
STORY, PAGES A6/A7
2015 BLOWOUT!
Kamloops’ two MLAs have turned down thousands of dollars from the proponents of the proposed Ajax mine due to concerns accepting the cash could harm the credibility of the mine’s environmental assessment. Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone said it would be “poor optics” to accept a $7,900 donation from KGHM Ajax, which would have entitled the company to a private barbecue dinner with the city’s MLAs. The barbecue was auctioned off Friday night as part of an annual B.C. Liberal fundraiser for both Kamloops ridings. KGHM Ajax external-affairs manager Yves Lacasse made the winning bid. Stone said he and Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake decided to decline the cash soon after the auction ended, since the company’s proposed copper and gold mine south of Aberdeen is still under review by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office. “Terry and I have prided ourselves on being neutral to this point and ensuring the integrity of the process is protected,” Stone told KTW. “At the end of the day, the decision will be a recommendation that will come from the environmental assessment office to the decision-makers, to the minister of mines and the minister of environment (Bill Bennett and Mary Polak). “We wanted to make sure we were doing everything we possibly can to protect the integrity of that process,” Stone said. “Optics count for a lot, as they should.” Lacasse said Stone called the company to speak with him yesterday and
he agreed to pull his bid. “After we had the conversation, I think we both realized — and there was no ill intention on our part, but I think it was the right decision to withdraw the bid and just move on,” he said. Lacasse said KGHM Ajax was not attempting to curry favour for its controversial mine south of Aberdeen, noting he and Lake already have a friendly relationship dating back to his time as superintendent of the Kamloops RCMP and Lake’s term as mayor. “There were 500 people [at the fundraiser] and the company had a table and they started with the auction, and I think we just got caught up with the whole thing,” Lacasse said. Stone, who is also the province’s transportation minister, said it’s common to auction off lunch or a barbecue with MLAs at the annual fundraiser. In the latter case, winning bidders often keep the barbecue, with MLAs showing up to flip burgers for a night. Meetings with MLAs have raised big bucks for the B.C. Liberals. Earlier this spring, Premier Christy Clark vowed the province would move to real-time disclosure of political donations after media reports of donors spending $10,000 to $20,000 to attend private gatherings with her. Keith Archer, B.C.’s chief electoral officer, said real-time disclosure is possible, but won’t happen before the 2017 election. Stone said auctioning off MLAs’ time is commonplace in B.C. and argued those who can pay aren’t getting special treatment. “Not at all. I would challenge anyone to highlight any decision that Terry Lake or Todd Stone have made that in any way is linked to the support that individuals have demonstrated either for us personally or our part,” he said.
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