Full House in Union Bay

Right now on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island, an important battle is underway in the war against climate change. On one side, a proposed mine to extract and export dirty coal. A growing army of local residents and environmentally-conscious citizens are lined-up against the mine.

Coal has been long known as a dirty fossil fuel: both in terms of the serious human health impacts of burning and mining and because of its significant contribution to global climate change. Burning coal for electricity produces more climate-changing pollution than burning the equivalent amount of oil or natural gas.

Here in B.C. we are in the midst of a massive expansion of our coal mining industry at the very time we are claiming to be leaders on climate change. There are almost 10 new coal mine proposals across the province.

These new mines and related infrastructure would impact habitat for stone sheep, grizzly bears, and mountain goats. These new projects would pollute ground water, threatening human health, important salmon streams and drinking water. And, these projects would add billions of tonnes of climate change causing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

These are just a few of the reasons that the Raven Coal Mine, a new proposal on Vancouver Island, has been met huge opposition.

Located just south of Courtenay in Fanny Bay, the Raven Coal Mine would have a devastating impact on many of the things people love about the West Coast. Heavy metal contamination of drinking water and salmon streams, increased traffic, threats to shellfish jobs, and health concerns are just a few of the issues the local communities face.

The local environmental impacts are numerous, and worrisome, but the big picture consequences are huge.

A new coal mine on Vancouver Island is absurd. Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel, and has global significance when burned.

Raven Coal is just the tip of the iceberg. Compliance Energy has three coal mine proposals on the books for the future of the Comox Valley. All of these new mines will add a massive amount of carbon into the atmosphere (none of which will be counted in B.C.’s current carbon accounting).

Right now in B.C., we have a chance to stand up and win one against Dirty Coal. The proposed Raven Coal Mine just entered the environmental assessment public comment period. This is our chance our to let government know what we think about this project.

This week, people all over Vancouver Island have been standing up and saying a very clear ‘No’.

On Monday night, chants of ‘No More Coal’ filled a packed Courtenay room for the first of three public comment meetings scheduled for the Raven Coal Mine environmental assessment. Over five hundred people crammed into the Filberg Centre for the six hour meeting, asking questions and expressing their concerns about the proposed mine. The next two meetings continued to demonstrate the overwhelming public concern. Out of over 220, only one person spoke in favour of the mine.

Throughout the week it was clear that people are frustrated with the process and deeply worried about the future of our communities. The government’s cookie-cutter response of ‘it will be assessed’ doesn’t cut it when you are talking about people’s drinking water, their livelihoods, and their health.

About 70 citizens registered to asked questions on a broad range of topics including climate change, water quality, impacts on tourism, liability to and reclamation of the shellfish industry. Not one person spoke in favour of the coal mine, and many people raised serious concerns about the feasibility of the project.

Another consistent theme throughout the meeting was a resounding call for a full independent review panel, and for more public meetings in impacted communities like Denman Island and Qualicum Beach. Over 22 environmental, community, labour organizations and local governments have joined the call for a more thoroughgoing and accountable review process.

People from all over the province, and right across Canada, need to stand with the impacted communities all over Vancouver Island.

An injury to one is an injury to all. If this coal mine goes ahead, we all lose. So please join the fight. Joining this worthy battle is as easy as submitting an online comment here.

Tria Donaldson

Tria Donaldson

Tria Donaldson is a youth activist with roots in the environmental movement, the labour movement, and Indigenous rights. Tria is a senior Communications Officer at CUPE National, and on the Member’s...