Concerned residents packed into the Sechelt Seniors' Activity Centre Wednesday night trying to raise awareness of Pan Pacific's mine operations.
Many views were shared, with the majority in the crowd against Pan Pacific.
The past few months we've been endeavouring to get to the bottom of the story. We've been on tours, we've attended meetings, we've published many letters to the editor (and will continue to do so).
On Wednesday, Dan Bouman, executive director of the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association, referred to a report from the association showing that the Ministry of Environment is investigating Pan Pacific for Fisheries Act and B.C. Water Act violations in the Carlson Creek area.
When we went on our tour, technical manager Richard Munroe told us the mine would be an environmental Mecca around the world.
He failed to mention that the company is under investigation.
We can understand why Munroe wouldn't want to disclose this piece of information. It's all about trying to put a positive spin on things, right? But when so many people are upset already with misinformation, it's important to come clean on everything. Concerns were expressed Wednesday that Pan Pacific was giving different answers to the same questions depending on the asker.
The Pan Pacific folks seem like genuine people. They've said they've come to this community to create a business venture that will be profitable not only for them but for the whole community.
But so far, a lot of what is being said seems like so much talk and no action.
It's imperative for Pan Pacific to be up front with this community, to explain what is going on and what is going to happen. The company has set dates for public open houses. This is an opportunity for us to get answers to our questions. At Wednesday's meeting, the media were accused by some people in the audience of biased reporting.
Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but let's be fair here.
A community newspaper is entrusted to reflect the views of the whole community, not just one interest group. We're not ignoring this issue. We've been there from day one, and we'll continue to be there every step of the way.
