Dear Editor
The announcement that Ottawa has turned down the Taseko proposal for a gold mine near Williams Lake is a landmark decision. And it is good news.
You might even say the Federal government refusal quite possibly spells a new era for land use.
The days when corporate and political power could press successfully for development in sensitive areas like the one proposed by Taseko near Williams Lake may well be over. The watershed in the area is too sensitive for that kind of massive intrusion. Guarantees that the area would be adequately protected by Taseko seem to have been counter-balanced by the realities of the needs and the protection needed for those who use the land and its resources and have done so for many generations.
When you start tampering massively with watersheds, the results usually end up as disaster. We’ve seen that over and over again. Water sources are the most precious of our resources. Not even the promise of jobs with their corresponding benefits can balance the weight of the other.
Esther Darlington MacDonald
Ashcroft