CFJC Today file photo of a 2017 public meeting on Ajax.

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Time to stop being complacent about the threat of Ajax

Sep 5, 2020 | 7:05 AM

JUST LIKE THAT, Ajax is back in the news.

Abacus Mining and Exploration Corp. announced this week that KGHM, its senior partner in Ajax, has hired a new superintendent “whose duties will initially be focused on First Nations, community and government engagement in order to advance the project towards a potential resubmission of the environmental application.”

This is scary stuff — while there was widespread opposition through the community to the original application, KGHM is capable of a formidable full-court PR press.

It made a tempting offer to City council last time for a “community compensation” deal, spread donations around town, staged a big rally of supporters at Sandman Centre, produced a video and other promotional materials and got involved in the 2014 civic election by circulating a list of candidates and their positions on the project.

It even offered $5,000 to the Kamloops Area Preservation Association, a major opponent. KAPA turned it down.

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With City council and the Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc Nation (SSN) going on record against the first application, along with physicians and environmentalists, one might think Ajax has little chance of being revived but there are reasons to worry.

First of all, gold and copper are fetching high prices right now, and the higher commodities go, the more tempting it is to dig them up.

Secondly, the project has always been about the lure of well-paying jobs, though the estimated number available to local workers fluctuated over time. COVID-19 has punched a big hole in the job market and people are more anxious than ever to find work, any work.

Thirdly, there’s always the possibility of a change in the provincial and federal governments. The BC Liberals might well be more agreeable than the NDP to the prospect of a gigantic pockmark on Kamloops’ doorstep, and we can feel pretty certain the resource-fixated federal Conservatives would have a very different attitude than the Trudeau Liberals.

Fourthly, though residential development near the proposed pit is moving forward, there are no shovels in the ground yet. Now is the time to push forward with the mine, before houses start going up.

Finally, there’s still no legislation protecting communities from open-pit mines. Opponents of the mine have long talked about the need to reform the gold-rush era Mineral Tenure Act (currently, a provincial review drags on), and after Ajax was rejected by the provincial and federal governments, City council made an unsuccessful attempt to dramatically strengthen local control.

Coun. Dieter Dudy proposed that council put a resolution in front of the annual convention of the Union of B.C. Municipalities to lobby for legislative changes that would “prevent all future mining projects from being initiated within 10 km. of the municipal growth boundary of established communities.”

His motion was defeated but an amended version from Coun. Donovan Cavers asked that future mining projects proposed within 10 km. of municipal boundaries be subject to a veto by the local council. That was approved over the objections of Mayor Ken Christian and councillors Ray Dhaliwal, Arjun Singh and Pat Wallace.

One wonders what the current development-minded council would do with a motion like that. There might be another opportunity for it, since the Dudy-Cavers motion failed to get endorsement by UBCM delegates.

The fact that TteS Chief Rosanne Casimir has greeted the newest announcement from KGHM with a reaffirmation of indigenous opposition is good news. Kamloops City council needs to do the same but I’m not at all confident it will.

One only has to listen to the waffle words of Coun. Singh, as reported in CFJC Today, about the need for KGHM to come up with a plan that “meets the majority of concerns” to see why.

This isn’t a time for worrying about which way the winds are blowing; it’s a time to be clear and resolute in rejecting it before it gets traction. Already the old jobs-over-livability crowd are ready to jump on the bandwagon if they can get it rolling.

Though the environment is supposed to be the final consideration, politics inevitably rears its head.

You can be sure KGHM won’t be shy in trying to find support anywhere it can. It even plans to open an office again. Michal Wypych, the man just hired as superintendent of the project, worked on Ajax during the first round and presumably knows his way around the community.

His job won’t be easy but he’ll be working for a motivated company with a lot of resources.

We went through six years of divisive debate, expensive studies and meetings and it was a huge relief when the best interests of the community won the day. Let’s not go through it again.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.