Among the bodies of water to be destroyed by the mining project, Taseko has requested permission to drain Teztan Biny - a lake of deep cultural significance to the Tsilhqot'in Nation that is home to approximately 80,000 rainbow trout and other aquatic species.
"Schedule 2 is been used by mining companies like Taseko to strip healthy lakes of all environmental protections under the federal Fisheries Act so that they can be used as dumps for toxic mine waste," says Harjap Grewal, BC-Yukon Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians, who attended the Federal Review Panel hearing in March in William's Lake, BC.
The Federal Reviews Panel's recommendations will serve to strengthen the federal legal challenge against Schedule 2 by the Sandy Pond Alliance. The Sandy Pond Alliance - a coalition that includes the Council of Canadians, MiningWatch, the Newfoundland and Labrador Natural History Society, Sierra Club Atlantic, and scientists and activists in Newfoundland - believes it is illegal for the federal government to allow the dumping of mining waste into Canadian lakes and rivers.
"We will work with BC communities to oppose the destruction of Teztan Biny until the federal government has cancelled the project," said Meera Karunananthan, Water Campaigner for The Council of Canadians, "And regardless of the final decision, we will continue to challenge Schedule 2, which remains a threat to all lakes in Canada."
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For further information, contact:
Meera Karunananthan, 613.355.2100, meera@canadians.org
Carleen Pickard, 613.301.8346, cpickard@canadians.org
and see:
http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/TIAs/index.html
Carleen Pickard
Director of Organizing/Council of Canadians
#700 - 170 Laurier Ave W Ottawa, ON K1P 5V5
t. 613.233.4487 x 223/1.800.387.7177
c. 613.301.8346
The Council of Canadians has joined the The Tsilhqot'in First Nation and local community and environmental groups in opposing mining company Taseko's request to use Schedule 2 - a loophole in the Metal Mining Effluent Regulation (MMER) of the federal Fisheries Act in order to dump toxic waste into healthy bodies of fish-bearing water in the area. 
