Nathan Cullen, the NDP MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley seems to have perfectly described the situation that BC Premier Gordon Campbell finds himself in these days.
The Premier has been building up his environmental bona fides of late, with passionate speeches at the UBCM and a photo session with now Nobel Peace prize winner Al Gore, all part of his new found determination to protect the environment of "the best place on earth".
So it will be interesting to see how he handles the prospect of Northgate Minerals proposal to build the Kemess North project. That plan got a rather sudden jolt of reality recently when a joint provincial and federal environmental panel released a decision not to approve the Kemess mine.
A decision that has shocked the mining industry, which has been slowly rebuilding its presence in the province and an industry that has long been a supporter of the Liberal party and its candidates. While the mines proponents, Northgate Minerals haven't totally given up on the prospect of Kemess North, they seem a bit confused about where they stand on it now.
During the course of an event called the Denver Gold Forum, an exclusive by invitation only session which examines mining issues world wide. At the forum, Northgate Minerals CEO Ken Stowe expressed his concern over the BC environmental process and allegedly made remarks that have caused the local First Nations communities in the project area to express disappointment in his approach.
The controversial aspect of his speech apparently involved his questioning the spirit of the province's review forum participants in BC when asked about the review procedure in BC by a member of the Denver Forum audience.
The comments that have put him in hot water reportedly were: "There's things in there that went on the panel about people speaking to bears, so, it's pretty hard to talk science."
.Mr. Stowe's comments probably are not helpful to his cause or to a Premier, who one one hand is trying to rebuild bridges with First Nations communities across the province, nor does the mining strategy seem to twin with his Green agenda which seems to be one of his main concerns of late.
Where that leaves a traditional ally such as the mining sector is something that only the Premier's office knows, but as Mr. Cullen points out, it's a situation that certainly doesn't leave him with much wriggle room either way.
A complete look at "Mr. Campbell's pickle" was provided in Friday's Daily News as the front page story.
Campbell is facing tough choice over mine says MP
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, October 12, 2007
Pages one and three
B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell is literally caught between a rock and a hard place over the joint federal and provincial environmental panel's decision not to approve the Kemess mine in northern B.C., said Skeena Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen.
"B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell is in a real pickle over this," said Cullen.
On one hand, Campbell is being pressured by the mining industry, which has strongly supported his Liberal party, and on the other hand Campbell is trying to build a new relationship with First Nations, said Cullen.
"When push comes to shove, I'm not sure which way the province is going to break on this," he said.
Northgate Minerals was proposing to build the Kemess North project, a second open pit, would have extended the life of the existing Kemess South project, 425 kilometres northwest of Prince George, by another decade.
However, the environmental review panel recently released a decision saying the mine's benefits did not outweigh long-term concerns.
First Nations in the region - including Takla Lake, Tsay Keh Dene and Kwadacha - were opposed to the use of Duncan Lake, called Amazay in their language, to dump mine waste.
Northgate said it was the best environmental option, and the only economically viable one: $200 million versus the next best option at $1 billion.
Since then, Northgate Minerals CEO Ken Stowe said he is concerned First Nations have won a "veto" over mining projects in British Columbia.
"I think this project, in a way, has been sacrificed on the alter of unresolved land claims in British Columbia," said Stowe, in the company's first public airing of its reaction to the panel's rejection.
Stowe called the panel decision unfortunate and illogical, while speaking at the Denver Gold Forum in Denver, Colo., an invitation-only event that attracts major global fund and portfolio managers, institutional investors and analysts.
The panel's rejection is considered rare - Stowe said the federal-level rejection was a first - as most provincial and federal environmental review processes give the greenlight to resource developments, although sometimes with conditions.
Cullen said the province has indicated that it does not this as a dead project just yet.
"What they would have to do is override the environmental assessment panel. That's pretty serious and the story's not over," Cullen added.
Stowe also made a number of comments at the mining event that have sparked ire among northern First Nations.
Stowe's view was that the project was essentially rejected for two reasons: The panel had no idea what would happen 10,000 years from now (which was true for probably anything in life, he noted), and that some people had said Duncan Lake had spiritual value.
"There's things in there that went on the panel about people speaking to bears, so, it's pretty hard to talk science," he said in response to a question from the audience.
Questioned following his presentation about whether Northgate had any legal recourse, Stowe said the company was not going to spend millions of shareholder dollars fighting "the unwinnable fight".
"We'll wait to hear what the governments say before we decide anything," he added.
With files from the Prince George Citizen.
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, October 12, 2007
Pages one and three
B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell is literally caught between a rock and a hard place over the joint federal and provincial environmental panel's decision not to approve the Kemess mine in northern B.C., said Skeena Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen.
"B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell is in a real pickle over this," said Cullen.
On one hand, Campbell is being pressured by the mining industry, which has strongly supported his Liberal party, and on the other hand Campbell is trying to build a new relationship with First Nations, said Cullen.
"When push comes to shove, I'm not sure which way the province is going to break on this," he said.
Northgate Minerals was proposing to build the Kemess North project, a second open pit, would have extended the life of the existing Kemess South project, 425 kilometres northwest of Prince George, by another decade.
However, the environmental review panel recently released a decision saying the mine's benefits did not outweigh long-term concerns.
First Nations in the region - including Takla Lake, Tsay Keh Dene and Kwadacha - were opposed to the use of Duncan Lake, called Amazay in their language, to dump mine waste.
Northgate said it was the best environmental option, and the only economically viable one: $200 million versus the next best option at $1 billion.
Since then, Northgate Minerals CEO Ken Stowe said he is concerned First Nations have won a "veto" over mining projects in British Columbia.
"I think this project, in a way, has been sacrificed on the alter of unresolved land claims in British Columbia," said Stowe, in the company's first public airing of its reaction to the panel's rejection.
Stowe called the panel decision unfortunate and illogical, while speaking at the Denver Gold Forum in Denver, Colo., an invitation-only event that attracts major global fund and portfolio managers, institutional investors and analysts.
The panel's rejection is considered rare - Stowe said the federal-level rejection was a first - as most provincial and federal environmental review processes give the greenlight to resource developments, although sometimes with conditions.
Cullen said the province has indicated that it does not this as a dead project just yet.
"What they would have to do is override the environmental assessment panel. That's pretty serious and the story's not over," Cullen added.
Stowe also made a number of comments at the mining event that have sparked ire among northern First Nations.
Stowe's view was that the project was essentially rejected for two reasons: The panel had no idea what would happen 10,000 years from now (which was true for probably anything in life, he noted), and that some people had said Duncan Lake had spiritual value.
"There's things in there that went on the panel about people speaking to bears, so, it's pretty hard to talk science," he said in response to a question from the audience.
Questioned following his presentation about whether Northgate had any legal recourse, Stowe said the company was not going to spend millions of shareholder dollars fighting "the unwinnable fight".
"We'll wait to hear what the governments say before we decide anything," he added.
With files from the Prince George Citizen.
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