EDITORIAL — Now, the public debate on Ajax can finally begin

EDITORIAL — We’re making progress, of sorts.

Finally, we can get rid of the notion that we must wait for the “science” on Ajax, i.e. the studies that will be part of KGHM’s environmental permit application before we can intelligently debate the pros and cons of the project.

Kamloops City council’s position, for example, is that it must retain a neutral stance until that application is submitted and the studies are available — only then, say councillors, can they take a position one way or the other. Only then will they sponsor a public forum.

Even KGHM Ajax itself has consistently stated its hopes for public dialogue based on the science of the application, and has often said it’s too early in the process to answer certain questions.

And certainly, supporters of the project frequently say opponents should wait for the studies before drawing conclusions.

But now, 42 business leaders have written the municipal, provincial and federal governments saying Kamloops needs Ajax.

Those we spoke with say their support depends on those studies giving the project a clean bill of health, but the letter seems to make the assumption that the studies will do just that.

KGHM Ajax itself wrote the letter in co-operation with the signatories, and while it wasn’t intended for public consumption, the company obviously wants to generate support — not simply wait for the studies to come out.

Wednesday, after we published the letter, a call went out on the Support Ajax Mine Facebook page for supporters to submit comments to this blog backing up the letter, which is just fine — it all adds to the discussion.

So, both opponents and proponents have clearly staked out their positions regardless of the studies that were supposedly essential to taking sides. We can dispense with the argument on “waiting for all the information.” There’s plenty enough information for both sides upon which to argue their cases. It’s not just about the environment anyway — it’s about jobs, yes, and social impact, and health, and lifestyle, and community image, and much more.

This, of course, has been clear for a long time — opinion surveys have shown that only a minority is undecided. But now it’s more or less official.

Whether or not City representatives jump in is up to them, but the rest of the community is ready at last to get down to brass tacks.