KGHM promises information site with ‘plain language summaries’

KAMLOOPS – The company behind the proposed Ajax Mine is once again assuring council, and city residents, of its commitment to transparency with a promise to make easy to read summaries readily available to the public.

In a letter to council KGHM Ajax Mine External Affairs Manager Yves Lacasse says there will be ‘plain language summaries’ on the key findings in the reports that will still ‘be factual, objective summaries that fully explain the results.’ These plain language summaries will be made available on a website, independent of the corporate website, and will include fact sheets and a question and answer section.

Lacasse says the company also expects to host a number of open houses as part of the public comment period as well as other public events and a ‘comprehensive booklet’ that will be distributed city-wide.

The letter comes the same week a motion targeting the comment period on the proposed Ajax Mine is set to go before council.

Coun. Donovan Cavers has submitted a motion, which council will address at the regular council meeting Tuesday, April 28, asking that the 75-day public comment period not occur at the beginning of the 180-day review period. Cavers wants residents to have time to digest the large and technical Environmental Impact Assessment document, which is set to be submitted to the Environmental Assessment Office within the next couple of months, and is hoping council will agree to ask the province to make a change to the timeline.

While Cavers does not specifically object to the amount of time available during the public comment period, just where it is scheduled in the process, Lacasse notes the 75-day allotment is more than twice the usual 30 days the assessment process usually requires.

The proposed Ajax Mine is currently in the pre-application process and KGHM is expected to submit its application within the next couple of months. If the documentation is accepted, the project will enter into the 180-day application review stage. Cavers objects to the first 70 of these days also being allotted for public comment and would rather see the comment period come later in the review.

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