Thread by @wildsight

. @TeckResources proposed sale of its Elk Valley coal mines to @Glencore, a massive global mining company with a poor environmental and human rights record is concerning for the water pollution crises in the Elk and Kootenay Rivers 🧵

For decades now, mountaintop removal coal mining in the Elk has leached selenium, nitrates, sulphites and other pollutants into the Elk-Kootenay river system. Teck’s operations have damaged the environment and impacted sensitive animals like the westslope cutthroat trout.

@Glencore , a Swiss mining company, comes to the table with an even worse track record. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre said in a 2022 report that Glencore “has the worst human rights record among miners of metals used in renewable energy.”

In 2022, @Glencore pleaded guilty to foreign bribery and corruption charges in the US, the UK, and Brazil. They paid more than $1.1 billion in a settlement to resolve the situation.
justice.gov/opa/pr/glencor…

“I hope to see the federal regulatory bodies take a very serious look at this and determine what the benefits and downsides are from a Canadian perspective,” our Elk Valley Conservation Specialist @RandalMacnair

bnnbloomberg.ca/conservationis…

“Our voice is essential to ensure that the care of the land, water, air and all living things is a priority.”

Heidi Gravelle, Nasuʔkin (Chief) of Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it

e-know.ca/regions/ktunax…

The federal and provincial governments must carefully assess the potential deal with a lens towards the health of the Elk and Kootenai watershed and the rights of Indigenous peoples.
bnnbloomberg.ca/canada-to-care…

Our statement below wildsight.ca/2023/11/16/pro…