What price do we put on a way of life? How much is our environment -- our lakes, our lands and our territory -- worth? These are the questions we must ask as the federal government considers whether or not to approve the Prosperity Mine project.

The proposed Prosperity gold and copper mine on Tsilhqot'in territory in British Columbia is an example of rubber-stamping multi-million dollar projects without giving full weight to the impacts on human health and the environment. Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) are not following their own action plans, policies, and reports, let alone respecting the constitutional rights of First Nations and the overall human right to health and well-being of all Canadians.

The plan for Prosperity Mine calls for the draining of Tiztan Biny (Fish Lake), a sacred lake to the Tsilhqot'in Nation, an integral part of the ecosystem, and home to 85,000 trout. If Taseko Mining Limited and the province of B.C. have their way, this pristine lake will become a "tailings impoundment area"; essentially, a mining waste site. At best, the lake will become more acidic. At worst, it will be filled with arsenic and cyanide. Traditional livelihoods will be destroyed, human health endangered and a pristine environment poisoned.

This destruction is possible because of government amendments to the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMER), attached to the Fisheries Act. MMER contains a loophole called Schedule 2 that acts as a public subsidy to the mining industry. Schedule 2 allows lakes and riparian areas to be converted into "tailings impoundment areas" at the discretion of the government, saving the mining industry costs for proper mining waste treatment and disposal. Schedule 2 allows government and industry to poison our water and kill our marine and wildlife, all in the name of economic development.

If Fish Lake is classified under Schedule 2, a new lake will be created called "Prosperity Lake" -- an ironic name. Taseko Mines Ltd., a Vancouver based mining company, would prosper on gold while the Tsilhqot'in Nation lose their constitutional right to access fisheries.

Taseko and B.C. claim this project will help First Nations communities, but after the mine closes within 22 years it will leave behind a degraded ecosystem and a devastated way of life. There is no prosperity in senseless destruction, and there are social and economic costs incurred through a lost environment.

Taseko hasn't promised any jobs to the Tsilhqot'in. It has promised to create a new fishery by transferring 20,000 trout into an artificial lake as compensation. Independent studies do not support claims of "no net loss" of habitat. It doesn't take a marine biologist to figure out that 20,000 fish will produce less offspring than 85,000.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, a department of the federal government, has already labelled this project a poor idea because of its "significant adverse environmental effects." DFO should put an end to the project in respect of its mandate to promote "healthy and productive aquatic ecosystems." So should Environment Canada, whose job is to foster "healthy and creative environmental protection." Reclassifying Fish Lake as a toxic waste dump is a "creative" -- and shameful -- version of environmental protection in Canada.

Canadians and First Nations -the Tsilhqot'in included -are not anti-development, but we are anti-destruction. Development must be balanced with sound environmental practices. This project flagrantly disregards the environment and the laws meant to protect it. Even stockholders are uncertain if the project meets environmental standards. The value of the company dropped nearly 20% on the day the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency released its report.

This is a larger issue than just one mine. This is a national issue. If the government refuses to take its own environmental mandates and impact assessments seriously, then all Canadians, not only First Nations, are on the frontline against the mining industry. Cabinet must not set a dangerous precedent for development when it makes its decision. The government should fulfill its fiduciary duties and its responsibility to all Canadians and strike down the Prosperity Mine.

-Roger Augustine is the AFN Regional Chief for New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island. Eric Morris is the AFN Regional Chief for the Yukon. Both are leaders of the AFN's Environment and Economy portfolio.