From the Globe & Mail – March 16, 2011

by Ian Bailey & Justine Hunter

Premier Christy Clark has put the Prosperity Mine atop her
federal-provincial agenda, pressing Prime Minister Stephen Harper in
their first meeting to get on with the project previously scuttled by
the federal regulator on environmental grounds.

Ms. Clark
indicated Tuesday she was not backing down in her bullish support for
the open-pit copper and gold mine, although that enthusiasm generated
anger from environmentalists when she laid it out during the campaign to
become leader of the BC Liberals.

Native groups have also expressed concerns about the project, which
is to be located about 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake.

Going into her first caucus meeting as Premier, Ms. Clark told reporters that she advocated for the project on economic grounds.

“I
told him I’m interested in making sure we find a way to get that mine
going in British Columbia because it’s important for investment, it’s
important for jobs, for families across the province to make sure our
rural economies are really working,” she said. “So we talked about that
and we are going to continue talking about that.”

Supporters say
the Prosperity project would be a major economic boost for a B.C. region
hard hit by a forest-sector downturn, and also create hundreds of jobs.

Mr. Harper confirmed that he met privately with Ms. Clark on Tuesday morning, but did not comment on the content of the talks.

“I
am very hopeful that we will continue to move forward in a productive
relationship,” he told reporters, following an election-style
announcement in Surrey.

He did not mention Prosperity. But an
official in the PMO later noted the Prime Minister has previously been
clear that the government has rendered a final decision regarding the
original application. But if the proponent proceeds in a manner that
respects the environmental concerns raised by the assessment, the
official said in a statement on Tuesday, Ottawa is open to assessing
that proposal.

Last year, B.C. approved the project, but Ottawa
rejected it over environmental and wildlife concerns, including the
draining of Fish Lake, once featured in a provincial tourism campaign.

Last
month, Taseko, the company that’s developing the project, submitted a
revised proposal. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has said
it is reviewing the submission.

In a statement last month, Ms.
Clark noted that she was committed to bringing the project to an
“environmentally sustainable conclusion.”

Also Tuesday, Mr. Harper
said the Tories will continue to have a strong bench of MPs in British
Columbia despite the announcement last week that cabinet minister
Stockwell Day and Chuck Strahl, as well as veteran MP John Cummins, all
from B.C., will not be running in the next election.

“We have a
great team in British Columbia and, as much as we’ll miss these strong
colleagues, we have a lot of others that are all too anxious to fill
their place, and I’ll cross bridges in terms of election when we get to
them.”

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