Pan Pacific Aggregates (PPA) has issued a response to information posted on a website run by community members about its proposed mining project. PPA project manager Cal Mark is disputing information on the Friends of Sechelt Peninsula (FOSP) website as being a "blatant misrepresentation." "All the information that they have talked about has been discussed and is available but they insist on misrepresenting," Mark said. "The two no longer have any credibility."
But the people running the site - resident Jan Williams and Sunshine Coast Conser-vation Asso-cia-tion (SCCA) executive director Dan Bouman - maintain the site is accurate.
"We stand by everything that is on the website," Bouman said. "There could be some tiny mistakes but we stand by it."
"I trust the information on our website, otherwise it would not be there and my name would not be on it," Williams added. People who live in Sechelt and on the Coast will make up their own mind as to which information they believe."
They mainly collected information from PPA's project description submitted to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, publications, open houses, public forums and various other documentation.
"We are having to look and sift and find information," Williams said.
Mark responded, "If people want to know something, just ask."
Mark criticizes the two as being non-elected, self-appointed leaders of the community.
"Yes I am very involved with the community and networking with the community and getting the concerns of the community," Williams said. "That is my role and that is my goal. We are collecting information and educating the community so the community can make an educated decision as to what is best for their community when it comes to sustainable economic development. And we are being responsible about it, and transparent and accountable."
Bouman echoed Williams' response.
"There has been a demand placed on the conservation association that some leadership is exerted to ensure there is a full consideration of all the impacts of this proposed project," Bouman said. "We do not claim to represent the people of the Sunshine Coast, that is what we elect people to do. They want to challenge our credibility, our right to comment."
PPA sent out its point-by-point response to various people in the community, including Coast Reporter and most directors of the SCCA, but not directly to Williams and Bouman. The response document is available to the public at PPA's Sechelt office at 107 - 5530 Wharf Rd. The FOSP website is www.fosp.ca. PPA's website, which links to its project description, is www.panagg.com.
The FOSP site includes a copy of a petition circulating throughout the community, which had over a thousand signatures earlier this week. The petition asks the federal government and its agencies - Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Transport Canada and Environment Canada - to get involved in a full comprehensive study of the potential impacts of the mining operations before granting any permits.
Mark said PPA has been saying it is approaching it at a comprehensive study level including both the provincial and federal governments.
"How many times do we have to tell them this and they are still not listening," Mark said. "I knew from the outset that is where we would be."
The petition is being distributed for extra assurance. Bouman said he has very little faith in the provincial environmental assessment process.
"Public attention will help ensure that the process actually does relate to the critical issues," Bouman said. "We just want to ensure that the broadest possible range of impacts is considered."
Williams said they want to distinguish between PPA doing a comprehensive study and the federal government doing a comprehensive study.
"We want to support the role of the federal government in doing their job," Williams said.
