BRITISH COLUMBIA Campaign vowed against uranium mining | Continued from page 1 Much of the opposition to mining was centred in Bennett’s home riding of Okana- gan South where one of the richest of some 46 known uranium deposits in the province, the Blizzard site, is located. In announcing the lifting of the morato- rium, Energy Minister Jack Davis was quick to discount any plans to develop nuclear power in the province although the government itself raised fears about just such development a little over a year ago. New regulations to the Power Engineers and Boiler and Pressure Vessel Safety Act were introduced Dec. 27, 1985 to provide a schedule of fees for inspection of nuclear power plants under construction. Davis also claimed that the removal of the moratorium was unlikely to lead to any uranium mining. “There is no incentive for mining com- panies to explore for uranium here,” he said in a press statement. “Development of a mine would not take place for years, if over” A statement issued by the Government News Service said that the moratorium was being lifted merely to eliminate the “‘dam- pening effect” that it was having on the exploration of other minerals which are often found with uranium. But barely three weeks after the govern- ment’s announcement, the joint venture mining company which owns the Blizzard deposit announced that the partners in the venture would be meeting in the next month to consider the possibility of opening a mine. The site is owned by Lacan Mining, Norcen Energy, Campbell Chibougamau and Ontario Hydro. Company vice-president Peter Lawford told the mining industry journal Northern Miner Jan. 5 that the site, with proven reserves of some 10 million pounds of ura- nium oxide, held “‘a beautiful little deposit.” He added that it would be surprising if the site were found not to be economic, despite’ currently depressed uranium prices. Significantly, it was the Blizzard property owners who were most outraged when the moratorium was announced in 1980 since the companies reportedly had a contract to supply 4.3 million pounds of uranium to South Korea over a 10-year period begin- ning in 1983. Rainer suggested that the Socred govern- ment “was being pressured by the mining industry” to let the moratorium lapse. He The B.C. ‘Federation of . Labor announced Jan. 22 that it has reached agreement with provincial Native leaders ‘| to set up a joint committee to ensure ia ination and co-operation on the issue of land claims. In a special statement approved by a federation officers’. meeting ealier this month, the federation renewed its call for negotiated settlement to aboriginal claims. B.C. Fed secretary-treasurer Cliff Andstein said in a news release Jan. 22 that labor is “determined to see that our efforts end with negotiated comprehen- sive land claims settlements for this pro- vince’s aboriginal people.” Andstein called on federal Indian Affairs Minister Bill McKnight to take the necessary steps to remove aboriginal land claims from the courts and return them to the negotiating table where they belong. \ The statement came after a December meeting between some federal officers and leaders of the Nisga’a Tribal Coun- cil. It marks a new level of unity between labor and aboriginal organizations as - right-wing groups step up their attacks on the claims process. The Nisga’as are the only aboriginal group in B.C. now actively negotiating with the federal government on the abo- riginal claims. But that process is under attack in court, where the Pacific Fishermen’s Defence Alliance (PFDA) is demanding that the talks be halted or that non-Indian interests be given a seat at the table. Because the current talks centre on maritime claims, particularly fisheries, the PFDA is arguing that fishermen’s rights are being negotiated without their knowledge or consent in violation of the Charter of Rights. The PFDA case is being pursued by the same law firm that represented the provincial government in its successful effort last summer to win an injunction against Indian bylaws that would allow an inland commercial. fishery on the Skeena. ““We have the insane situation where the aboriginal people negotiate issues Nisga’a, B.C. Fed pact echoes unity on claims -work of the Nanaimo conference last and come to the government in good faith, only to have the provincial government go to court to have the agreement set aside,” Andstein said. “The most vile part of this whole thing is the fact that the provincial government refues to negotiate with the province’s aboriginal people, but has no problem in throwing legal roadblocks in their path and attempting to controvert agreements they have reached with the federal government.” The Nisga’a have pledged to inform labor about the progress of talks, effec- tively undercutting the claim that third parties have no access to negotiations. It is likely that wood, fishing industry and public sector unions will be represented. Andstein said the federation and abo- riginal leaders also have agreed to holda second province-wide conference of both groups later this year to follow up on the October. That gathering adopted a statement endorsed by the B.C. Fed convention last December pledging both sides to work for unity on claims. A key element of the statement was recognition of the right to a job for workers affected by claims set- tlements. The coming year will see major devel- opments in the struggle for justice for aboriginal peoples. Last week, McKnight announced a revised land claims poicy for the federal government. That policy will be at the centre of debate at the coming First Min- isters’ Conference on Aboriginal Rights in Ottawa this spring. Meanwhile, two important land claims cases to go trial in April. The cases, to be heard jointly, involve the Gitksan- Wet’suwet’en Tribal Council’s claim on traditional territory on the Bulkley and Skeena watersheds and the Nuu-Chah- Nulth Tribal Council’s claim to title over Meares Island. Important legal precedents estab- lished in a number of fisheries cases will be tested in 1987 and still unresolved are conflicts between aboriginal peoples and resources corporations seeking to log Lyell Island and the Stein watershed. 12 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JANUARY 28, 1987 _ —————— BATES INQUIRY, 1979... ee Ne . commission proceedings cut short before unions, envir- onmental groups could present full body of evidence against uranium mining. added that some companies “are probably actively considering uranium mining and have the financing to do it.” But whether or not an active mine will be developed, the government’s decision -has raised again all the issues that were before the Bates Inquiry in 1979-80. And the pow- erful wave of opposition to the arms race that has grown up since the inquiry was adjourned has added a new dimension. “There’s the issue of weapons production that has more of a public profile now than it did then,” said Rainer. ““The connection with the nuclear weapons industry makes uranium mining a moral issue for many - people as well as an issue of health and safety.” The SPEC co-ordinator emphasized that the links with the weapons industry in the U.S. and the new knowledge now available about the dangers of uranium mining should prompt the government to impose an outright ban on mining. Kathy Walker, the health and safety director for CAIMAW and the representa- tive for her union at Tuesday’s meeting, said that there was “no reason at all that the government should consider uranium min- ing in this province.” She said that she had just re-opened the file containing CAIMAW’s submission to the Bates Inquiry, “and everything we said in 1979 is basically true today,” she said. “Uranium mining is no more acceptable to us now than it was then. It’s not just a question of our members being exposed to uranium — we don’t want to see a mine in the first place.” The B.C. Federation of Labor will also be campaigning against the lifting of the moratorium, B.C. Fed secretary-treasurer Cliff Andstein said in an interview. Although the federation was not slated to take part in Tuesday’s meeting. Andstein said he hoped that it would be involved in the subsequent campaign. “We took a strong position against uranium mining during the Bates Inquiry and we'll be con- tinuing that stand.” One of the ironies in the debate is that uranium mining just doesn’t make eco- nomic sense in this province. Most of the ore is low-grade — in the neighborhood of 0.2 per cent uranium compared to 12 per cent and more in Saskatchewan — and the known reserves are only worth about $350 million at current prices. ~, oo Se 8. 8 Ry 0 the 8 te ees Se Se. 6 8 0 8 be ee Name: 3-5 ee ee Address. ¢6..02.2%55: NES say Se Postal. Code Ga. 2 eS ee : lam enclosing 1 yr. $160] 2yrs.$280) 6mo.s100 Introductory offer, 3mo. $3 Foreign 1 yr. $25) Bill me later 0 The danger is that if development did proceed it would result in. vast amounts of radioactive mine tailings being generated because of the low-grade ore which requires that far more‘ mineral be processed to obtain the uranium oxide. One researcher has estimated that if all the known reserves were mined, it would create a pond of radioactive tailings that would cover Van- — couver’s Stanley Park to a depth of three metres. Those tailings would have to be isolated from human contact for 250,000 years “and — the problems of radioactive waste disposal or storage just haven’t been solved since the moratorium was imposed,” said Rainer. In fact, according to Earth Embassy ~ representative David Garrick, the new — information that has emerged in the last — seven years about radon gas — a highly © radioactive gas produced during the “decay”’ of uranium into other elements — should virtually rule out any consideration of uranium mining in B.C. The radon gas is found in varying — amounts wherever there is uranium ore, he — said, but because the ore bodies are locked’ ’ within the earth’s crust, little radonisableto ~ escape before it decays into metallic forms. But if the ore body is disturbed by earth- _ quake activity or by mining, large amounts ~ of radon are released into the atmosphere or into groundwater. Dangerously high levels of radon gas have been found in the basements of homes in Elliott Lake, Ontario, the site of one of the country’s major uranium mines. The gas has been directly linked to lung cancer. “The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. has estimated that 20,000 cancer ~ deaths a year are attributable to radon,” aid Garrick, who worked closely with the 4 Environmental Alliance against Uranium Mining during the Bates Inquiry. “And in Canada, the Radiation Protection Branch estimates that 320,000 homes have excessive levels of radon in basements.” That information simply wasn’t available at the time the royal commission was con- ducting its inquiry, he said, and what infor- mation was available wasn’t presented | because the hearings were cut short. “If anything,’ he emphasized, ‘“‘the dangers of uranium mining are even greater now than we thought then. And there simply is no reason to go after uranium at — all in B.C.” FAIBONE- Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street Vancouver, B.C. VSK 1Z5. Phone 251-1186 ee re BE HAL FIGHTS.FORLABOR Vsti :