B.C. mining disaster raises concerns in N.B.

It's at my front door, and I'm probably the first buffer, because I'm probably the closest to it. Gina Brooks says this land here is at risk because of a proposed tungsten and molybdenum mine. It's not what the people want. I haven't seen anybody in the area want it. I've seen a few politicians say, you know, you need it for jobs. No, we don't. We need water. We need fresh air. Brooks calls this land the Caribou Club. It's her home on traditional Wolastoqey territory, but also a space for workshops, traditional teachings, and on-the-land learning. And to provide a place where I could feel safe, where I could harvest medicine, and I could see myself through this land, and to restore a little bit of what's taken from from us, from many of us, from many generations. I'm disappointed in this level of government that's here because they don't see or hear, you know, what happens here and what they're gonna destroy. The mine proposed by Northcliffe is one of the projects being considered for fast tracking through the federal government's major projects office. It's located in the Nashwaak River watershed, about 60 kilometers north of Fredericton. The project will have a 1,250-hectare, or 12.5 square kilometer, physical footprint that many conservationists in the area compare to downtown Fredericton. We're already seeing animals that are retreating to the property because they're being pushed out. While Gina fears what a future with a mine could mean for Wolastoqey territory, Jacinda Mack has felt the devastation. It may be the worst environmental disaster in British Columbia's history. The magnitude of the disaster could only be adequately captured from the air. The tailings pond at the Mount Polley gold and copper mine breached. 25 million cubic meters of water and tailings escaped into Polley Lake. My mom was the chief and she got the call that the dam had failed and I knew the scale. Our community experienced it like the death of a relative. It felt so heartbreaking because we know that that's an area first it's a salmon nursery, it's a source of fresh water, it's a place of ceremony and it's also an interior rainforest. Mack has been sharing her experience with Wolastoqey communities as debate continues over the proposed Sissinean Mine. I think it's really important for people to really understand what the project is about, really understand the risks and know that there are many more risks than they're probably disclosing, because this is the legacy and this is the inheritance of one generation to the next. Wollaston Grand Chief Ron Trombley invited Mack to New Brunswick. He says the proposed Sisson Mine raises concerns about the future of lands and waterways his people have relied on for generations. The proposed tailing pond, which is just going to be wasteland, is the same type of tailing pond that was built at Mount Polley. So there has not been any more advancement in the technical way to secure the tailing pond. Northcliffe President and CEO Andrew Ng says the proposed tailing storage facility has undergone review and been updated to reflect current guidance and lessons learned from tailings incidents. No matter how many studies come out and how many yes they think they get from political parties including our own people, people like me who have a very deep connection to this land and live it and understand it and learn it, it's not in my thinking. Sissi Mulholland, CBC Indigenous, in Stanley.