The controversy surrounding "Prosperity Mine" on Tsilhqot'in Territory in B.C.

Length: 0:18:26
Uploaded: 13 May, 2010

Recording Date: 27 Apr, 2010
Recording Location: Nemiah Valley, Williams Lake, B.C.
Logsheet: none
Language: English
Topical for: Timeless
Status: Complete, Ready to Air
Copyright:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License.

Program Title: Losing Ground? The Struggle for Teztan Biny/Fish Lake
Description: "Losing Ground? The Struggle for Teztan Biny/Fish Lake" was recorded in two communities at the epicenter of a debate surrounding one of the most controversial mines in Canadian history.

As the federal environmental assessment process for Taseko Mines' proposed "Prosperity Mine" unfolds, voices from the Tsilhqot'in community of Nemiah Valley and the City of William's Lake, B.C. explain what is at stake.

Taseko Mines' plans to convert Teztan Biny/Fish Lake into an impoundment reservoir for the mine’s toxic waste have generated both staunch support and fierce resistance. The "Prosperity Mine" conflict raises what is becoming a familiar debate in rural resource-based economies in Canada: Who gets to determine whether a mining “boom” is worth a potential “bust”? Yet the battle for Teztan Biny/Fish Lake, which is located on Tsilhqot'in territory, is couched in a broader issue of First Nations rights and title in a context of continuing colonialism.

"Losing Ground? The Struggle for Teztan Biny/Fish Lake" piece features interviews with several First Nation chiefs and community members, as well as legal and scientific specialists who testified in the environmental assessment process.

Host(s): Susanne Porter-Bopp, Tamara Herman
Featured Speakers/Guests: Chief Joe Alphonse, Tl’etinqox-t’in First Nation (member nation of the Tsilhqot’in National Government) Chief Marilyn Baptiste, Xeni Gwet'in First Nation (member nation of the Tsilhqot’in National Government) Children of Nemiah Valley Public School Brian Battison, Vice president of Corporate Affairs, Taseko Mines Limited Dr. Amy Crook, Fisheries biologist, Centre for Science in Public Participation Margaret Lulua, Community Natural Resource Worker, Tsilhqot’in National Government Chief Ivor Meyers, Stone First Nation, (member nation of the Tsilhqot’in National Government) Sean Nixon, lawyer, Woodward & Company

Credits: Susanne Porter-Bopp
Tamara Herman

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