Supreme Court of Canada's Decision to Deny Taseko Mines Limited's Appeal
- Tŝilhqot’in
Nation -
Protest against Taseko Mines project outside Federal Court hearing in
2014.
The Tŝilhqot’in Nation is celebrating
the Supreme Court of
Canada's denial of Taseko Mines Limited's application to
appeal the rejection of the New Prosperity Mine proposal by the
Government of Canada in 2014. New Prosperity Mine threatened a
sacred area of profound cultural importance to the
Tŝilhqot’in
peoples, with a destructive open pit gold and copper mine that
did not have the consent of the Tŝilhqot’in Nation.
 In October 2013,
an independent federal panel of experts
concluded, in its environmental assessment report, that New
Prosperity would have significant and immitigable impacts on
water quality, fisheries and Tŝilhqot’in cultural heritage,
rights and traditional practices. This New Prosperity Panel
affirmed the importance of Teẑtan Biny (Fish Lake) and Nabaŝ? as
"unique and of special significance" for the Tŝilhqot’in
peoples.
The Federal Panel noted that Taseko Mines was unable to even meet
"proof
of concept" for its unprecedented, unproven, entire-lake
recirculation proposal and that Teẑtan Biny would be
contaminated over time, despite mitigation efforts.
In February 2014, the Government of Canada
accepted the
conclusions of the Federal Panel Report and rejected the New
Prosperity Mine. In response, Taseko Mines filed legal challenges to
both
the Federal Panel Report and the decision of the Government of
Canada rejecting the New Prosperity Mine. The Federal Court
rejected both of Taseko Mines' legal challenges in December 2017 and
the
Federal Court of Appeal dismissed Taseko Mines' appeals in
December 2019.
Both levels of court affirmed the position of the Tŝilhqot’in
Nation that the Government of Canada made the eminently
reasonable and fair decision to reject this destructive
project.
Today [May 14], the Supreme Court of Canada
dismissed Taseko's
application to hear a further appeal. This means Taseko has no
further legal avenues to appeal the rejection of the New
Prosperity Mine. The New Prosperity Mine is now dead -- it cannot
be legally built.
Chief Joe
Alphonse, Tribal Chairman, Tŝilhqot’in National
Government:
"This decision has been a long time coming. We are
celebrating
the Supreme Court of Canada's decision today, and taking the time
to reflect on the immense sacrifices made by our communities and
members to finally have their voices heard and respected. Now we
call on Taseko Mines to accept that this is the end of the
road for them.
It's time to move on and protect this sacred area for the
survival of our way of life. We look forward to turning our focus
and energy to supporting responsible economic projects in
appropriate areas of our Territory, as we move towards building a
regional economy that respects our culture, our spirituality and
our Aboriginal Rights and Title. BC should finally recognize the
importance of this area to the Tŝilhqot’in and support the
Dasiqox Nexwagwezʔan. The Nation should never have to face the
burden of an industrial threat to this sacred area ever
again."
Chief Russell
Myers Ross, Vice-Chair, Tŝilhqot’in National
Government:
"We are relieved and welcome this news. The last
30 years has
been challenging and onerous on our communities and people.
Today's decision is another step in our journey to reimagine a
more respectful relationship with the Crown, grounded in
recognition of our Aboriginal Rights and Title. We continue to
invest our energy into such a future, and in the case of Teẑtan
Biny and Nabaŝ?, we are pursuing an alternative vision called the
Dasiqox Nexwagwezʔan ('It is there for us'). We are hopeful that
now we can finally move forward with those plans and bring that
vision to completion."
Chief Jimmy
Lulua, Xeni Gwet'in First Nations Government:
"Today we celebrate the courts' recognition of
Aboriginal
rights and title. Further, we celebrate the resiliency and the
perseverance of our people. Yes, the courts delivered justice,
but that required our communities to remain vigilant and strong
throughout this entire process, at an immense cost of our time
and resources. Without the leadership shown by our communities
and Nation, we would have lost the integrity of a sacred place in
our territory, and our lands, water and wildlife would be at
further risk. The government and the courts needed to be educated
on Aboriginal rights and title to arrive at this decision. We
will continue to protect our culture and our sacred places from
threats like Taseko Mines and we will never stop standing up
for
ourselves, our rights and for our future generations."
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 18 - May 23, 2020
Article Link:
Supreme Court of Canada's Decision to Deny Taseko Mines Limited's Appeal - Tŝilhqot’in
Nation
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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