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Cape Breton Strip Mining Still An Open Issue |
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Written by NDP News Release
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Tuesday, 04 April 2006 |
NDP MLA Frank Corbett says that he is disappointed by the MacDonald government's continued refusal to listen to Cape Breton communities who do not want to see strip mining on the Island. "Yesterday's announcement didn't fix anything," says Corbett. "A pause is no solution."
"The issue was, and remains, that this government has cut the voices of communities right out of the process. Until the people of Cape Breton get their hearing on strip mining any other manoeuver, like a three year moratorium or reducing the size of Point Aconi, is just a deferral."
Corbett went on to warn that the unique Cape Breton landscape continues to be threatened by strip mines that no one wants.
The NDP has repeatedly called for all strip mining in the Island to be halted until full public consultation takes place. Corbett is quick to point out that the government announcement delaying the tendering of surface coal makes no mention of public consultation. He notes too that one of the largest and most contentious strip mining projects, on Boularderie Island, will be unaffected by the moratorium as that tender has already been accepted.
"The process is the problem and that has been left as is," says Corbett. "Right now the proponent gets in there first and the community is left to scramble with a reaction. That's all backwards. The public must be consulted and involved from the beginning. That is the only right way to do this and the only way to the people of Cape Breton will ever regain control of their own environment and quality of life." |
