Steelworkers president to speak on ‘reality of having mine on our doorstep’ April 13 at TRU

NEWS/ AJAX — The union leader who once proclaimed the benefits of Ajax and later changed his mind will talk about “The Reality of Having a Mine on our Doorstep” in a public presentation Sunday, April 13.

The talk will be at 2 p.m. in the TRU Clocktower Theatre, another in a series sponsored by the TRU Faculty Association’s human rights committee and the TRU Eco Club.

Boyce, president of the United Steelworkers Local 7619, which represents workers at Highland Valley Copper, originally was an enthusiastic supporter of Ajax, accusing mine opponents — especially TRU professors —  of being part of a “machine” that would take away important mine jobs.

“In a lot of ways, it’s anti-industry,” he said in March 2012. “Without all the information in front of us, we’re hearing strong opposition to anything going on.

“I’m concerned we’ll turn our backs on good jobs. We don’t have that luxury anymore. We’re going to be have-nots.”

Boyce’s union pulled out of the Kamloops and District Labour Council two years ago because of the council’s opposition to Ajax.

However, last October, Boyce switched sides on the issue, saying negative effects from Ajax will last “forever” and the proposed mine is too close to Kamloops.

“The city of Kamloops is accepting a lot of expensive gifts from Ajax,” he was quoted as saying in The Kamloops Daily News. “Are we going to be forced into a relationship because we’ve accepted so many expensive gifts?”