4/7/2015

StanleyresidentsdividedoverproposedSissonmineNewBrunswickCBCNews

StanleyresidentsdividedoverproposedSissonmine
It'sthelargestvillagenearthemine,communityuncertainaboutitssurvivalanddividedonfuture
ByJulianneHazlewood,CBCNewsPosted:Apr07,20156:40AMATLastUpdated:Apr07,20156:40AMAT
It'sfairtosaythefutureofStanleyisuncertain.
Overtheyears,thepopulationhasdwindledtoabout400people,threemillshaveclosedintheareaoverthelastdecadeandtheprimaryandsecondaryschoolsareonthevergeof
beingcombinedbecauseoflowenrolment.
"Prettysoonthisplacewillbeaghosttowniftheydon'tgetsomethinghere,"saidLawrenceGreen,whohaslivedintheareahisentirelife.
Andthat'swheretheSissonminecomesin.Stanleyisthelargestvillageneartheproposedmineproject.
Somepeopleintheareaseetheopenpittungstenandmolybdenummineasthevillage'sgoldenticket,awaytogivethecommunityamuchneededeconomicboost.
Themineissupposedtocreateabout800jobs.Thecompanysaysit'scommittedtomakingthosepositionslocal.
Buttherearealsodeepseatedfearsabouttheenvironmentalimpactoftheprojectamongsomelivinginthecommunity.
AttherootofbothperspectivesisaprofoundconcernaboutthesurvivalofStanley.
Herearetheirstories.

'Itwouldbeagoodthing'
TheBavis'slivingroomisfullofphotographsoftheirchildrenandgrandchildren.
KathyBavispointsouthereldestson,DannyParadis.
HeleftStanleyfiveyearsagoforFortMcMurray,afterlosinghisjobwhenthecompanyheworkedforsuddenlyshutdown,shesaid.
Butshe'scertainiftheSissonprojectisbuilt,he'llcomehometoworkatthemine.
"Iknowhewillcomeback.Andthat'sagoodfeelingbecauseyoudon'twantyourfamilytolivesofarawayandtherearealotoffamiliesthataresufferingfromthat,"KathyBavissaid.
Herhusbandsaidtheproposedminedoesnotbotherhim.
"Itwouldbeagoodthing,allright,makeworkforsomepeople,"hesaid.
ForKathyBavis,shesaiditisimportanttothinkofthelargerpicturewhenassessingthemine.
"It'sforthecommunity,it'sfortheprovince.TheNewBrunswickeconomycertainlyneedsstufflikethis,forustoexist,forustogoon,"shesaid.

'We'regoingtohaveafesteringenvironmentaldisaster'
Forthelastfewyears,LarryWuesthasmadeithismissiontoinformhimselfabouttheSissonmineandtrytodoeverythinghecantofighttheprojectfrombeingbuilt.
"Mypredictionis,evenifthisminegoesahead,it'sgoingtofailinfiveyearsandthenwe'regoingtohaveafesteringenvironmentaldisasterintheupperNashwaak[River]
,feedingenvironmentalwaste,forever,"Wuestsaid.
"Ifeelit'sthewrongmine,inthewrongplace,atthewrongtimeandI'madamantlyopposedtoit,"Wuestsaid.
WuestsaidheisconcernedbillionsoflitresofwastewatercouldendupintheriveriftheSissonminetailingspondeverleaked.
"Ifitfails,we'llseeadisasterhere,likewe'veseeninMountPolleythissummerinB.C.andthatwentdown30to50kilometresdownstream,"Wuestsaid.
Thebreachofthetailingsponddamatthecopperandgoldminereleased25millioncubicmetresofcontaminatedwaterandminingwasteintocreeksandrivers.
"IguessthecruxofthematterisIperceivedabigcompanycomingin,posingasignificantthreatandnotcaringmuchabouttheirimpact,"Wuestsaid.
NorthcliffResources,thecompanybehindtheSissonmineproposal,emphasizesit'stakingallstepspossibletopreventanyproblemswiththemine.

'It'spotentiallythesurvivalofourcommunity'
StanleyMayorMarkForemanhasalwayscalledthevillagehome.Buthesaysit'samuchdifferentplacethanitoncewas.
"WhenIgrewupinthecommunity,wehadfourservicestations,wehavenonenow.Wehadsixgrocerystores,wehaveone,"Foremansaid.
"Withoutgrowthandfamiliescomingin,andemploymenthere,youlose.Andonceyoustartlosingthings,younevergetitback.It'sthehistoryofruralNewBrunswick."
Foremanhasheardconcernsfromthecommunityaboutthemine,buthesaidhethinkstheprojectisnecessarytogiveStanleyafightingchanceatafuture.
"Wecan'tsellourselvesout,butatthesametime,youhavetolooklongtermandhowwehavetosustainourselves...Ifjobsareavailable,peopleareeithergoingtocomebackorgo
tothem,"Foremansaid.
"Inthelongrun,it'spotentiallythesurvivalofourcommunity."

'Youhatetoseeyourcommunitydie'
WilltheSissonmineeverbebuilt?It'saquestionLawrenceandSharonGreenhaveaskedthemselvesmanytimesovertheyears.
Theykeephearingabouttheproject,butthey'reunsurewhetheritwillactuallyeverhappen.
"Itwouldbeagreatthingforthecommunity,butwehaven'tseenanythingmuchhappenyet,"LawrenceGreensaid.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newbrunswick/stanleyresidentsdividedoverproposedsissonmine1.3022972

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4/7/2015

StanleyresidentsdividedoverproposedSissonmineNewBrunswickCBCNews

SharonGreensaidshehopestheproposedminecouldkeepyoungpeopleintheruralvillage.
"Iftheydogetstartedthanmaybewe'llhavetheyouthstayinginhereandtotalfamiliesaren'tmovingoutwestforjobsandnotcomingback,"shesaid.
"It'salsobreakingupthecommunityiswhatit'sdoing."
Stanley'sfuturedoesn'tlookverygoodwithouttheSissonmine,accordingtotheGreens.
"Youhatetoseeyourcommunitydie.Youliketoseeitstayvibrant,andIhopeitwill,"hesaid.

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