Cree Nation against Uranium ProjectMatoush Uranium Project Should be Rejected say MiningWatch, Cree Nation of Mistissini and Others
Nov 24 2010MistissiniCree Nation – November 23. The message was clear – reject StratecoResources’ proposal for an advanced uranium exploration project at itsMatoush site In the Otish Mountains.
The message came fromMistissini Chief Richard Shecapio, from MiningWatch Canada, from theCanadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, from Canadian Parks andWilderness Society, and from individuals living in Mistissini and fromsouthern Québec who traveled here for the first of two public hearingson the proposed project.
The first to present was Ramsey Hart ofMiningWatch Canada. Mr. Hart highlighted a number of fundamentalweaknesses in the proponents justification and impact assessment forthe project giving examples of several assertions made by the companythat were not backed up by evidence. Two of the most serious flaws, inHart’s view, were the failure to address how the 2.4 km undergroundramp would interact with groundwater and the failure to provideinformation about the mine Strateco hopes the advanced explorationproject will lead to. He quoted information from an April 2010document, not included in the environmental impact statement, that2-million tonnes of tailings would be dumped into two nearby lakes.“These are the kinds of issues we should be discussing now” said Hart.
GordonEdwards from the Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility reviewed aspectsof the project documents for MiningWatch. He pointed to the companiesfailure to provide information on basic aspects of radiation and itshazards while identifying important errors in the calculation of theconcentrations of radioactive materials in the rocks from the projectsite.
In his address, Chief Shecapio was critical of Stratecofor their failure to provide adequate information, answer thecommunity’s questions and to gain their trust. He expressed hiscommunity’s concern over the potential for lasting impacts to wildlifeand about the proximity of the project to a newly formed national park.The lack of care taken in developing their impact statement made himquestion how careful the company would be in implementing the project.He also stated that the mining of uranium would go against fundamentalvalues of the Cree.
Thomas Coon, a Cree elder made an eloquentand passionate speech comparing the feeling in the room to the feelingin the community when it was faced with massive hydro-electricdevelopments in their territory. He described it as: “the feeling offear, the feeling of threat, the feeling of uncertainty that somethingis going to happen to our land, the land that we love.”
Of the10 presentations made to the panel tonight, none were supportive of theproject. A second hearing is planned for the Town of Chibougamau onThursday.