In the next two weeks, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson will make his decision to order a federal assessment of the mine or to let BC handle it—and we know the province is very eager to approve this mine, even if it means turning a blind eye to centuries of water pollution, decades of major carbon emissions and destruction of habitat for endangered species.
Minister Wilkinson needs to hear loud and clear that BC’s environmental assessment isn’t good enough and that we need a federal assessment for a massive coal mine that will operate until 2060. First Nations, dozens of conservations groups, government agencies and hundreds of people like you have asked the Minister for a federal assessment, but we know he’s under a lot of pressure from BC and Teck to ignore them.
If you live in the Minister’s riding, your voice is needed now. If you don’t live in his riding, please call him in his Ottawa office.
Your voice, as a constituent, is powerful. Please call Minister Wilkinson’s local office in North Vancouver today at 604-775-6333. You can speak to someone during regular business hours or simply call in the evening to leave a message. Say your name and where you live, then let the Minister know that:
- You’re worried about the environmental risks of coal mining in BC’s Elk Valley and the huge Castle mine.
- The Minister should designate the Castle coal mine expansion for a federal environmental assessment because the mine will send dangerous water pollution downstream for many centuries.
Optionally, give the Minister some more good reasons to assess the mine:
- Fish downstream of the Castle mine can’t take any more water pollution, which flows for hundreds of kilometres, including into the US.
- Endangered species like cutthroat trout, white sturgeon, grizzly bears and wolverines are at risk.
- Canada can’t keep mining coal until 2060. We need to support the transition away from coal in the steelmaking industry to avoid the worst of climate change, not export 10 million tonnes of coal from Castle every year for decades.
- BC’s environmental assessments of major coal mine expansions in the Elk Valley over the last decade haven’t seriously grappled with these problems, so a federal assessment is needed.
Please call Minister Wilkinson’s office in North Vancouver today at 604-775-6333. If you can let us know you’ve called, we’d really appreciate it.
Want to do even more? Tweet at Minister Wilkinson asking him for a federal assessment.
Thank you!