It’s been almost five years since Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley Mine spilled 25 million cubic metres of toxic waste into Quesnel Lake, one of the deepest lakes in the world. The lake is home to abundant fish and supplies drinking water to local communities. 

Two years ago the B.C. government missed its opportunity to lay charges. Federal prosecutors even stepped in to stay Fisheries Act charges filed by MiningWatch Canada. To date, the company has faced no fines or charges for the largest mining waste spill in Canadian history. 

The clock is ticking: the federal government has until August 4th, 2019, to charge Imperial Metals. That’s why we need to turn up the heat now and force Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson’s hands.

Tell Trudeau, Wilkinson, and the Canadian government not to let Imperial Metals off the hook. Enforce the Fisheries Act now!

Mount Polley is a textbook case of corporate negligence. Multiple independent and government reports found the mine waste site was poorly constructed and operated, yet Imperial Metals faced no fines or sanctions and didn’t even have to pay the full cost of cleanup. Instead, Canadians and British Columbians subsidized the cleanup, which is still incomplete.

The 2014 spill destroyed or damaged massive swaths of fish habitat that is supposed to be protected under the federal Fisheries Act. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to usher in a new era of protection for Canadian waters. That includes pushing forward with charges against Imperial Metals.

Not only has Imperial Metals so far escaped scot-free after overseeing the worst mining disaster in Canadian history, it has repeatedly been granted permits – to discharge waste water directly into the once-pristine Quesnel Lake, to start up the Red Chris mine in northern B.C. using the same tailings dump technology, to mining claims in Manning Park at the headwaters of the Skagit River. 

Join us and demand that the Government of Canada hold Imperial Metals responsible for the biggest mining disaster in Canadian history.

Canada is a world superpower in the mining industry and its record of neglect, shoddy practices and environmental devastation is one of the most underreported stories in the media. That’s why SumOfUs supporters have always stood up against its abuses.

SumOfUs has a long history of challenging the mining industry. Hundreds of thousands of members like you called on Newmont-Goldcorp to stop its destructive Conga mining project in Peru, and on Rio Tinto to pull out of its investment in Pebble Mine in Alaska. To date, neither mine has been built -- showing that when we work together, we can stop mining companies from destroying our ecosystem, and local communities.

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