12 January 2017, 8:57pm EST

Advisory: First Hearings this Week for MiningWatch Charges Against B.C. Government and Mount Polley Mining Corporation

Imperial Metals British Columbia Water and fisheries

(Williams Lake, B.C.) MiningWatch Canada will appear in B.C. Court for the first time this week for charges against the B.C. government and Mount Polley Mining Corporation (MPMC)—owned by Imperial Metals—in connection with the largest mine waste disaster in Canadian history. The mining watchdog will be in Williams Lake Provincial Court this Friday, January 13, at 9:30am, to demonstrate to the Court that there is enough evidence in connection with the 2014 tailings pond disaster to warrant charges under the Canadian Fisheries Act. Members of the public and the media are invited to attend in large numbers.

  • When: Friday, Jan.13 2017, 9:30am
  • Where: Williams Lake Court (540 Borland Street)
  • What: Charges against B.C. government & Mount Polley Mining Corporation for the 2014 disaster
  • Who: MiningWatch Canada

This court appearance will the first since MiningWatch filed in October a private prosecution claiming that the massive 2014 spill destroyed or altered large swaths of fish habitat, in clear violations of sections 35(1) and 36(3) of the federal Fisheries Act (see backgrounder online and below).

This legal action is supported by multiple local, provincial, and national organizations, including West Coast Environmental Law-Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund (main funder), Amnesty International Canada, Sierra Club BC, Wilderness Committee, First Nations Women Advocating for Responsible Mining, Concerned Citizens of Quesnel Lake, Quesnel River Watershed Alliance, Fair Mining Collaborative, Rivers Without Borders, British Columbia Environmental Network, Clayoquot Action, Forest Protection Allies, Kamloops Area Preservation Association, Kamloops Physicians for the Environment Society, Alaska Clean Water Advocacy.

For more information:
- Our news release MiningWatch Canada Files Charges Against B.C. Government and Mount Polley Mine for 2014 Tailings Pond Disaster
and backgrounder MiningWatch Canada Charges Against B.C. Government and Mount Polley Mine
- Ugo Lapointe, Canada Program Coordinator, MiningWatch Canada, c.514-708-0134