KGHM Ajax enters election fray
NEWS/ AJAX — A list of Kamloops council candidates’ positions on Ajax being circulated by the Support Ajax group and now by KGHM Ajax itself has ruffled some feathers among the mine project’s opponents.
The list, created by Ajax supporter Caroline King, divides candidates into those “waiting for scientific studies” and those “opposed to Ajax,” and first appeared on the Support Ajax Facebook page. Then, KGHM Ajax sent it out to supporters as well.
“Get informed and get out and vote,” says a KGHM Ajax post on Facebook. “Our friends at Support Ajax Mine prepared a flyer that indicates which candidates are waiting for the scientific studies on Ajax and which have decided they are already opposed to the project.”
Ajax vowed at the start of the campaign not to get involved. “KGHM Ajax wants the community to know we will not offer any candidate direct or indirect financial support in this civic election campaign,” the company stated in a comment to A.M. News on Oct. 2.
“We encourage all citizens to become involved in the democratic process, learn about the issues, demand informed responses from those seeking office and, of course, get out to vote for the candidates of their choice on Nov. 15.”
Opponents are crying foul, with Stop Ajax Mine saying it amounts to indirect support for candidates who are not already opposed to the project. “What are they worried about?” asked Stop Ajax Mine.
KGHM Ajax is in the process of registering as a third party advertiser — a new requirement for the civic election this year — but mine opponent Gisela Ruckert said it “seems a bit late to be registering as a third party advertiser now, doesn’t it?”
Council candidate Peter Kerek called it “a complete 180” from what Ajax said at the start of the campaign.
A statement provided to media by KGHM Ajax communications strategist Robert Koopmans said Ajax han’t endorsed specific candidates and hasn’t financially supported candidates.
“Regardless, Ajax decided last week to register as a third-party sponsor and expects to file the required paperwork this week,” he told one media outlet.
“Several of our supporters have shared council candidates’ position on Ajax, and others have asked us for a list. We shared a list researched and prepared by one of our supporters and shared it with other supporters in one of our regular project update letters.”
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Not sure what all the fuss is about. As an informed voter, I already know who is opposed to Ajax. Where I work, and many Kamloops businesses are dependant on the mining and resources industries for our livelyhoods. We support the local economy and pay taxes. This city, province and country were built on resource extraction. I personally think every candiates position should be to wait for the scientific facts, feasibility study, etc. Why make a unilateral declaration without having all facts in hand. It seems to be the same group of people that are against every resource development proposal. These projects add good paying jobs which benefit the local, provincial and federal economy, which adds money to government tax base to help support healthcare and other social programs everyone cries for.
Capitalism can survive without socialism but socialism cannot survive without capitalism.
We can’t all be organic turnip farmers!
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Kevin, before you speak about capitalism and socialism, perhaps you should ask your Capitalism friends why they need to export jobs out of the country, pay their CEOs millions of dollars and rip the consumer off with a never ending increase of everything. The middle class is getting poorer and the rich are getting richer at an alarming rate. There needs to be a balance between the two and there never will be as long as the sheeple think like you and keep voting these right wing governments in. You seem to look down on organic turnip farmers, but perhaps its not them who seem to have fallen off that turnip truck. If Capitalism is working, then why do we need an open pit mine that close to the city? There should be jobs around, but all one hears in regards to Ajax is that we need the jobs because all that is available are minimum paying jobs. If the jobs would not be exported to Third World Countries while the corporations are given huge tax breaks, we would have health care and jobs.
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“We recently sent a letter to a group of Ajax supporters…” as well as posted this on their corporate facebook page. That use of a corporate presence on facebook (which is NOT a private communication with supports and is public) is endorsement and advertisement, plain and simple.
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Don’t worry folks, ajax is running scared! A council weighted against this too-close-to-Kamloops mine can indeed make a stand and have an influence on the decision about the project.
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An April 16, 2012 Financial Times report stated: “KGHM is 31.8 per cent owned by the government, which gives the treasury effective control over the company as the rest of the shareholders are diffuse.”
The government in question is Poland. KGHM was founded in 1961 as a state-owned company by the Polish communist regime. In 1990 it was ostensibly privatized. However, the 2013 KGHM Annual report states that the Polish Treasury still owns 31.79% of the company, giving credence to the Financial Times report that the Polish government effectively controls the company.
One could argue that the extent of state ownership and control of a company as large as KGHM means that a communistic mentality of government interference in the economy still lingers in Poland, along with the top-down centralized control system that is a key feature of a communist-based economy.
KGHM wholly owns KGHM International, which in turn owns 80% of the Ajax project. In essence it is the current Polish government that wants to develop an open pit mine next to the City of Kamloops. Therefore, it is the Polish government that must take ultimate responsibility for the actions of its subordinates for violating the electoral laws of another state.
An even more serious issue, however, is the fact that representatives of a company controlled by a foreign government have been encouraging voters to support candidates, who, if elected, will be in a position of power to vote for changes to zoning bylaws that may be necessary for mineral processing activities by the company to take place either in the City of Kamloops or the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. For information on the local government laws regarding mineral processing activities, see the 2012 University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre report, Mitigating Community Impacts of Mining Operations: Options for Local Governments.
It is also imperative that the federal government take action on this matter as well. The current federal government has raised the issue several times of money from foreign environmental organizations being used to sway Canadian opinion. The government should be even more concerned about a foreign government through the companies it controls in Canada doing the same thing.
What would be Ottawa’s response if KGHM was a Russian-based company controlled by the Putin regime?
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Elections are vital to the open public discourse that we embrace at KGHM Ajax. That is why we encourage our neighbours to get involved and understand the issues and candidates in the current election, regardless of how they intend to vote.
While fully within our rights to do so, KGHM chose not to financially support any Kamloops city council candidate. KGHM publicly stated this position on numerous occasions and has maintained that commitment.
We recently sent a letter to a group of Ajax supporters that included a list of all the candidates currently running for Kamloops city council as well as their respective public positions on Ajax. We shared the list, created by a supporter, because we had been asked many times by our supporters for this kind of information. The list simply set out the name of every candidate for council and the public position taken by each candidate about Ajax. We were happy to provide this list as requested.
KGHM sought legal advice about whether it was required to register with Elections BC to send this letter to its supporters. We were told that because the letter and the list of candidates were not being broadcast to the public, but rather were a private communication with our supporters, it is not election advertising requiring registration with Elections BC. Despite this advice — and because of its commitment to transparency — KGHM registered with Elections BC anyway. Indeed, we were happy to do so. KGHM Ajax will fully comply with all of B.C.’s election laws.
We will continue to provide people objective information when asked — by mail, email, social media and telephone — as well as to encourage people to get out and vote, whatever their position on Ajax may be.
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“While fully within our rights to do so, KGHM chose not to financially support any Kamloops city council candidate. KGHM publicly stated this position on numerous occasions and has maintained that commitment.”
Er, um, KGHM — you spent money on paper, printing, and stamps to advocate for certain candidates “the green-coloured ‘go’ choices!” and denounce others “boo – red – stop those folks!”. Yowchers – you’ve even gotten it wrong on your post, then!
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Why are the anti-Ajax people so afraid of this list? You can use the information too – you vote for the “red” candidates and I will vote for the “green” candidates. It’s not rocket science!
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“We will continue to provide people objective information when asked”
Ok. How many letters were mailed out to this “group” of ajax supporters and how much did it cost KGHM to do this?
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This is a response to Joanne. There is so much to say regarding the reasons why KGHM’s actions are so bad: choosing the easy route instead of registering “right away” to be safe, using Facebook (public) to advertise, following the rules “after the fact”, financially supporting candidates by sending out a list “green-lighting” and framing certain candidates in one light. It is not the list in and of itself, but the methods and mechanisms by which it all came about. Plus the list isn’t even right! Dustin McIntyre states right on his website that he is opposed to the proposed Ajax location. KGHM could not even fact-check properly — what does that tell you? Actually, I am starting to love this list — not rocket science at all….
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Does this surprise anyone? KGHM which previously pontificated on a hand’s off approach and the importance of the democratic process is suddenly experiencing election jitters. Let’s face it, it’s hard to imagine those highly paid PR folks of Kamloops’ “supreme magisterium” sitting there idle during an election whilst their data banks burst with email addresses.
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I doubt that it is going to make a tic of difference in this, the quietest and oddest of all elections. Sure do miss the daily newspaper.
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Yves Lacasse is quoted as saying “we would never tell anyone how to vote” – BUT by sending names of city candidates they THINK are opposed to Ajax, they are telling Ajax supporters who NOT to vote for. Contrary to Election BC requirements, and a violation of promises to stay out of the municipal election. Another broken promise by Ajax. Lacasse should apologize to the community
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I have no problem with independent local volunteer groups like Stop Ajax and Support Ajax communicating their endorsements, but something about a huge multinational with full time communications staff interfering in our local election really rubs me the wrong way…. Interesting “conversation.” Ajax will have to work with whoever is elected. This strategy could easily backfire and rub some candidates the wrong way, and violating election laws is a rookie mistake for paid communications staff, in my opinion.
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