Members of the International Joint Commission are set to meet online on Zoom on Thursday May 14 for a dialogue with key stakeholders on the U.S. and British Columbia transboundary watersheds to discuss the role of the Boundary Waters Treaty with respect to large BC mines.
The webinar registration site for the session is online at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ee4svv1QSqWxTNHFa7p8ow.
The IJC is a bi-national organization established by the governments of the U.S. and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Its purpose is to prevent and resolve disputes between the two nations under that treaty. Still, according to Jill Weitz, of Salmon Beyond Borders, in order for the U.S. State Department to move on this issue the state of Alaska must support federal engagement, and until Alaska does British Columbia will continue to move forward with multiple projects along the transboundary watersheds that rival the size of the proposed Pebble mine in Southwest Alaska.
Salmon Beyond Borders announced the forthcoming dialogue earlier this week. Stakeholders on both sides of the border, including fishermen, scientists, businesses, tribes and First Nations have urged the two federal governments to get involved and negotiate to protect the rich salmon habitat of the transboundary waters from potential pollution from nearby open pit mines and mine waste dumps.
While mining companies in British Columbia profit from these projects the government of British Columbia does not require full reclamation policies to cover the cost of water and fisheries degradation, leaving taxpayers in British Columbia and Alaska on the hook, she said.
The webinar registration site for the session is online at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ee4svv1QSqWxTNHFa7p8ow.
The IJC is a bi-national organization established by the governments of the U.S. and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Its purpose is to prevent and resolve disputes between the two nations under that treaty. Still, according to Jill Weitz, of Salmon Beyond Borders, in order for the U.S. State Department to move on this issue the state of Alaska must support federal engagement, and until Alaska does British Columbia will continue to move forward with multiple projects along the transboundary watersheds that rival the size of the proposed Pebble mine in Southwest Alaska.
Salmon Beyond Borders announced the forthcoming dialogue earlier this week. Stakeholders on both sides of the border, including fishermen, scientists, businesses, tribes and First Nations have urged the two federal governments to get involved and negotiate to protect the rich salmon habitat of the transboundary waters from potential pollution from nearby open pit mines and mine waste dumps.
While mining companies in British Columbia profit from these projects the government of British Columbia does not require full reclamation policies to cover the cost of water and fisheries degradation, leaving taxpayers in British Columbia and Alaska on the hook, she said.
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