Abandoned mines are a key source of pollution in Canada. They are a serious and immediate danger to human health and the environment — they are costing taxpayers millions of dollars in clean-up, health impacts such as cancers, and lost fishery and farm income. And they stand to cost billions more.
There is growing recognition of the need to internalise of the costs of mining in the development of sound public policy. There has been little research in Canada regarding which companies and individuals have benefited from externalising the costs of these mines. Questions that would be useful to answer include: To what extent do present major companies owe their wealth to the externalised ecological costs of their early mines? To what extent should the present industry be responsible for this legacy? Prepared by CCSG Associates of Whitehorse.