City of Kamloops questioning Ajax assessment process
KAMLOOPS — This week’s report that the Ajax mine won’t have any significant environmental impacts has the City of Kamloops questioning the review process.
The provincial and federal environmental assessment offices released the report on Tuesday and none of the city’s recommendations were included in the report — nor was council’s overwhelming stance against the project.
“From a staff perspective, I think it’s safe to say it was a bit surprising to see some of the conclusions that were made in the documents,” said manager of public works Jen Fretz. “The city put on an open house public meeting where SLR, at great lengths, reviewed all of the concerns raised. I think it’s safe to say that the documents that were put out don’t necessarily match what the city has been feeling.”
Fretz says the report hammers home the point that the City of Kamloops has very little clout when it comes to influencing the decision on the Ajax mine.