2012 Master of spin or Protector of Mother Earth… you decide

Wildsight continues to stretch the truth and smear the facts. The coalition of Sierra Club, Y2Y, CPAWS and Wildsight use misleading statements to fire up the imagination of readers. Just about every issue these groups campaign against uses similar media hype and thinly veiled threats of doom and gloom. There is a place for environmentalism in B.C. but not in the way these groups do business. Their campaigns twist the truth and use sketchy details to garner an audience.  The latest campaign on a new coal mine in the Elk Valley is typical of how they twist reality. It would be useful to the environmental assessment process if Wildsight and its partners used some credible statements in their opposition to new coal mines in the Elk Valley.

Here are the statements that Wildsight and their partners published as compared to the facts:

“Jeopardize a crucial international wildlife corridor.”

The wildlife in the Elk valley range in the Elk Valley or Alberta depending on the summer and winter ranges.  There is always the off chance that a singular animal will migrate south 200 plus kms to cross the U.S. border. This is not an internationally crucial wildlife corridor, unless of course you are peddling the Y2Y project.

“Centermount Coal Ltd.’s Bingay project, which is 45 per cent Chinese-owned.”

Foreign investment is needed to build infrastructure so we as Canadians can reap the long term benefits. Two private Chinese citizens own 45% and Canadians own the other 55% majority shares which control the company. I hope Wildsight is not implying that non-Canadians can’t invest in B.C., if they did then Wildsight would stand to lose millions from U.S. foundations. Wildsight is trying to get a free ride off public sentiment from the recent federal decision to allow foreign ownership of oil sand companies. Here’s the breakdown of ownership of Centermount taken from the project description submitted to the BC Environmental Assessment Office:

“The Bingay Main Coal Project (the project) is wholly owned by Centermount, a private, Canadian company with its head office located in Vancouver, BC. Centermount is 55% owned by Centerpoint Resources Inc., also a private Canadian company, with the remaining 45% owned by two Chinese private shareholders.”

“The Elk is one of the last strongholds for genetically pure westslope cutthroat trout and endangered bull trout.”

Westslope cutthroat are abundant throughout the Kootenays including the Elk River which is not the last stronghold. Bull trout are found throughout B.C. and are not endangered. They are blue listed which means they are sensitive to human activities or natural events, but are not extirpated, endangered or threatened.

 “This mine would be smack in the middle of a globally-significant wildlife corridor that UNESCO has asked B.C. to protect.”

Just where is “smack in the middle”? According to the proponents application they put the location at: 80 kms north of Sparwood and 80 kms south of Banff National Park. UNESCO has never stated that the Elk Valley is a “globally-significant wildlife corridor” nor have they ever asked the B.C. Government to protect that value.  UNESCO did however use similar references to the federal government for the Flathead Valley which has no bearing on this project.

“Contravene a United Nations recommendation for a moratorium on new coal mines in the Elk.”

The United Nations never recommended a moratorium on new coal mines in the Elk Valley in fact they stated:

Urges the State Party of Canada not to permit any development or other resource extraction in the upper Flathead River basin until adequate baseline and comparative research has been completed and considered jointly with the State Party of the United States of America;

“This could ultimately impact the whole corridor, including the nearby Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.”

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is over 200 kms away as the crow flies in a different province across many mountain ranges with five other open pit coal mines in between. I doubt visitors to Waterton will notice any impact.

It’s time that people start to ask tough questions of Wildsight and their environmental partners. They want the government and corporations to be accountable, responsible and open yet they don’t follow that creed. The untaxed millions that registered charities such as Wildsight, CPAWS and Sierra Club use are governed by strict rules from the Canada Revenue Agency.  Its time they started to act like a charity, do some good for the communities, rather than oppose and protest with their junk science.  You can read the application submitted by the company online at http://a100.gov.bc.ca.

Think twice about what is written and look further to make an informed decision on this and other environmental issues. You can view other informative articles at Kootenay Think twice.

Paul Visentin

Member of the Kootenay Thinktwice group

Images from: Bingay Coal

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