Different federal enviro minister, same stand on Ajax review

MONDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — It’s business as usual in Ottawa when it comes to the Ajax mine proposal.

When then-Environment Minister Peter Kent came to town to look things over back in January 2012, he left without changing anything about the process for examining the impact of a giant open-pit copper and gold mine on the city’s border.

A joint federal-provincial review was fine, he said, despite calls by several groups — including the community advisory group set up under the B.C. Environmental Assessment office, Kamloops City council, Skeechestn Indian Band, Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment, and even the provincial NDP —for what some call a more rigorous federal review panel.

“I’m assured on the basis of information available to date, this project would not result in adverse environmental impacts with the appropriate application of mitigation strategies and procedures,” Kent said in 2012.

In June of last year he re-affirmed his stand in a letter, saying, “The factors required to be examined by environmental assessments conducted as either a comprehensive study or review panel process are identical under the former Act,” Kent wrote.

The “former act” is the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, which has been changed.

Tuesday, City council will have on its agenda a letter from Kent’s successor, Leona Aglukkaq, who writes that “under the former Act, the factors examined through the comprehensive study and review panel processes are identical.”

Sounds familiar.

Also of interest is Aglukkaq’s mention that “I am aware that KGHM International may be considering changes to the project to address concerns raised by the public.”

In August 2013, when KGHM announced a postponement of its environment certificate application, it said public concerns had nothing to do with the decision.

Regardless of the reasons for the postponement, it should have nothing to do with the assessment — a mine proposed for the city’s doorstep needs the most stringent review available.