Council to debate new Ajax motion

KAMLOOPS – Kamloops city council will be having yet another debate about the proposed Ajax Mine.

Councillor Denis Walsh submitted a motion yesterday, Nov. 8, to be discussed at the next meeting on Nov. 22. The motion says the Kamloops city council would accept the mine if five conditions are met.

The conditions include formal acceptance from the Tk’emplups the Secwepemc and Skeetchstin Indian Band, financial compensation that reflects the risks taken by the city, a tailings storage review by an independent expert engineering panel, the establishment of an independent provincial oversight agency and the establishment of an independent monitoring agency.

The five conditions are essentially the same five Walsh discussed in a press release during the summer.

Walsh says he expects a debate about the conditions.

“I’ve talked to a few of the councillors already,” he says. “They would prefer to see it broken down and we just debate each individual motion on it’s own merits rather than omnibus bill.”

He says he’s OK with that.

“Someone suggested they didn’t like the idea of the five, but they may like number one and number four, so we may see what we come up with,” Walsh says.

He stresses that it’s not support for the mine, but he sees it as a way for the city to protect itself.

The mine's environemntal application is currently temporarily suspended at the request of KGHM Ajax, the mine's proponent. It's uncertain when it will start up again.

For more on the proposed gold and copper mine on the city's southwest border, click here.

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