World Water Day rally to refend Teztan Biny

Join the Tsilhqot'in National Government and the Council of Canadians on World Water Day to defend Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) along with the local watershed from being destroyed by Taseko Mines Ltd's proposed Prosperity Project. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's public hearings will begin on World Water Day (March 22nd) in Williams Lake. The Tsilhqot'in need your solidarity!

If your organization, group or community would like to endorse this call from the Tsilhqot'in National Government please forward the endorsement to our e-mail. For more information e-mail or call us.
Travel and car-pool information:

Rides are being organized from Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops, Kelowna and other communities. If you are driving down and have space to assist with car-pooling or if you need a ride please RSVP to the e-mail provided.
Teztan Biny

Vancouver-based Taseko Mines Ltd is proposing to drain Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) in order to stockpile solid waste and use Fish Creek and Little Fish Lake as tailings impoundment areas for a gold-copper mining project called Prosperity Mine. Teztan Biny is home to an estimated 85,000 rainbow trout. The Tsilhqot'in have lived in the area for thousands of years. They oppose the environmental destruction being proposed by Taseko Mines and were not consulted by the Province of British Columbia when it approved the project.

The film "Blue Gold" about Teztan Biny can be viewed here. [2]

Lakes across Canada are being destroyed by mining waste

Since 2006, Schedule 2, a loophole in the Metal Mining Effluent Regulation of the Fisheries Act, has allowed metal mining companies to apply for federal and provincial approval to use bodies of fresh water as tailings ponds for mining waste. Once placed on Schedule 2, a lake loses all the protections of the Fisheries Act which would normally prevent the dumping of toxins into fish bearing water. It is reclassified as a "tailings impoundment area." As a result, four lakes have already been approved for destruction and many more are on a list awaiting approval. In 2008, we were told of 11 lakes across the country, but since then Environment Canada has not made public the number of lakes being considered for reclassification.

What are the impacts?

The practice of dumping toxic mining waste into a lake effectively kills the body of water and all living things within it. It cannot be reclaimed 10 or 15 years later after the mining company has packed up and left the scene. Furthermore, the contamination cannot be isolated and contained. Lakes and rivers are part of a larger watershed and are connected through groundwater and a network of tributaries. What affects one body of water is a threat to all other bodies of water within the larger system.

The draining of Teztan Biny and the dumping of toxins into Fish Creek and Little Fish Lake are very likely to contaminate the Taseko River, a tributary of the Chilko River which joins the Fraser River. The Fraser River has the largest runs of Sockeye Salmon in the world and is an important source of food security to First Nations groups within the watershed.

The lake and its surroundings have been an important source of food security for the Tsilhqot'in Nation who has lived, fished and hunted in the area for thousands of years.

The Tsilhqot'in National Government has argued that the average household in the area lives on less than $10,000 a year. Their wellbeing is contingent on the ability to fish, pick berries and hunt in the area. The proposed destruction of Teztan Biny and the surrounding area will drive many in these communities to abject poverty.

The area is also sacred to the Tsilhqot'in. It contains pit houses and burial grounds that would be destroyed by the project. The Tsilhqot'in have also been passing on their cultural heritage by teaching younger generations to fish in Teztan Biny. It's destruction would be a severe attack on the community's cultural integrity.

What else can you do...

A federal review panel will hold public hearings starting March 22. To register or make a submission by March 12, send an email to prosperity.review@ceaa-acee.gc.ca [3]

Send a message to MP Dick Harris to voice your opposition to the project at: harrir1@parl.gc.ca [4]

Send a message to Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice at: Prentice.J@parl.gc.ca [5]

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