Environment Canada Warned Mount Polley Mine Before Disaster, FOIs Show

"The controversial Mount Polley mine received both millions of dollars in contracts and a written warning from Canada’s environment department prior to a massive breach of a dam with mining waste in 2014, according to a newly released federal memorandum.

The memo, dated Aug 8, 2014 and released through access to information legislation, said the written warning was unrelated to the breach. But the revelations from the document raise questions about whether the government has adequate safeguards to prevent conflicts of interest in its oversight and enforcement of environmental laws, said Ugo Lapointe, a spokesman from advocacy group MiningWatch Canada.

Both the issue raised by the warning and alleged violations of the federal Fisheries Act following the dam breach remain under investigation by Environment Canada in 2016, the department said in a statement."

Mike De Souza reports for National Observer January 18, 2016.