With the one anniversary of the Mt. Polley tailings pond breach nearing, a rally is planned to take place in Williams Lake.
Paul French, President of United Steelworkers Local 1-425 says the union decided to back the August 4th rally which was organized by laid-off workers.
“We jumped on board basically to let the public know how many people are still unemployed and let everyone the impacts the layoffs have had on people…and all the neighboring communities including Williams Lake.”
“We just want to show that we believe it’s great that the temporary permit has been approved. We want the mine and government to work together to try to get a full permit so the mine can get back up and running.”
French says the mine is hoping to be partially reopened in the upcoming weeks and that about 40 people have been recalled back to try and get the mine back up and running.
Over 400 people had been employed at the mine prior to the breach, with the restart anticipated to provide jobs for 220 workers.
The rally which will feature a BBQ and activities takes place in Boitanio Park on Tuesday at 5 pm.