We’ve been cordially invited to dinner and a show!

In most places on the planet, governments know that a park is no place for a mine. Here in Manitoba, Hudbay – the mining corporation attempting to build the first provincial park mine in 20 years – is trying to convince people that it’s OK.

This Thursday, April 4 from 6:30 until 9:30, Hudbay is hosting a private dinner to talk about their new Reed Mine project. Many of our members and supporters have been invited, as have I, as Director of the Wilderness Committee. I am going to tell them what a terrible idea mining in parks is – and I invite you to join me!   

Event details:
Thursday, April 4th, 2013
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Holiday Inn South
1330 Pembina Highway
Winnipeg

There are so many questions to ask about this project, the event is sure to be quite a show. Here are just a few of the questions that might need to be addressed:

• Why is a corporation with a clear interest in having this project approved hosting an information session instead of the Manitoba government, who is ultimately responsible for protecting our parks?

• Does Hudbay really think this development is outside the threatened Naosap woodland caribou range? Why aren’t the cumulative impacts of a new mine and logging road on Naosap caribou being considered by Manitoba Conservation?

• Who in the Manitoba government said that the mess left at Hudbay’s abandoned Spruce Point Mine site is acceptable? Why is the company not required to clean up that mess inside a provincial park?

• How can Hudbay defend the condition of the Spruce Point mine site? In their licence application for the Reed Mine, they stated that the site was virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding vegetation, but that is clearly not true.

It’s not every day that environmentalists are offered a free dinner, so I encourage you take advantage of this opportunity! If you’d like to attend, you have to sign up by contacting Jay Cooper at jay.cooper@hudbayminerals.com or (204)-687-2667.

If you’re planning on attending the event with us, you can always contact our office ahead of time to get a briefing on what other questions and concerns might need to be raised.

What’s really needed – and what the Wilderness Committee is asking the Manitoba government for – is a public forum where our elected representatives and government ecological experts come forward to honestly discuss protecting our parks from industrial activity.

This is our provincial park. And this is our fresh water, forest and habitat for woodland caribou. We don’t need to destroy our provincial park for Hudbay. Please come out with the Wilderness Committee on Thursday and say “No Way” to HudBay!

Finally, if you haven’t done so yet, please submit a comment to the government offering your opinion on whether or not we should start opening up new provincial park mines. You can do that on our website here.

Hope to see you Thursday!

For the wild,

Eric Reder | Manitoba Campaign Director
Wilderness Committee