As Federal Crown Prosecutors move today in B.C. provincial court to stay (i.e. shelve) MiningWatch’s private charges over the Mount Polley mine disaster, the mining watchdog is releasing the names of over 25,000 Canadians who have endorsed a petition urging the Trudeau government not to let those responsible off the hook for the biggest mining spill in Canada’s history. Local residents, regional groups, and First Nations support the effort to enforce the Fisheries Act... British Columbians and Canadians are invited to add their names to the petition, before the petition is delivered in the coming weeks to each of the federal ministers responsible for enforcing the Fisheries Act.

“We are deeply concerned that nearly three years after the disaster, and despite clear evidence of damage to water and fish habitat, no sanctions have been brought forward by any level of government,” states Ugo Lapointe, Canada Program Coordinator for MiningWatch Canada.  Angus Wong, Campaign Manager for SumOfUs, which sponsored the petition, adds: “Worse, Imperial Metals, the owner of the mine, did not even have to pay the full cost of the cleanup. Instead, British Columbians and Canadians picked up a big part of the tab.”

[full Letter To Federal Ministers]