For Immediate Release April 5, 2004
Northerners Celebrate The End of Adams Mine
New Liskeard -- The Liberal government have finally acted on their promise
to kill the Adams Mine dump plan. The move was announced this afternoon at
the municipal hall in New Liskeard. On hand were representatives of the
various communities and groups that have fought the battle for 14 years.
Leaders from Timiskaming First Nation mingled with farm families and
anti-dump activists. Many in attendance were veterans of the road and rail
blockades that brought the project to a standstill in the fall of 2000.
Charlie Angus, an area organizer, says today's victory is a vindication of
years of hard work and strife.
"The real credit for today's announcement belongs people of the
north. We proved that a rural region could beat a billion dollar consortium by
standing together. This project was an unbelievable drain on the civic
energy of this region. But we never wavered in our determination to protect
the Temiskaming watershed from urban garbage."
Angus says the decision by the Liberal government to push for an ambitious
recycling plan for the whole province is a direct result of the Adams Mine battle.
"The Adams Mine battle changed the politics of garbage forever. Before the
Adams Mine battle, the main priority of urban Canada was to find a hole
that couldn't be seen by city office towers. The Adams Mine brought helped
people across Canada realize that we had to find a better way of dealing with waste."
Angus says a team of northern organizers has continued to push provincial
politicians to finally tackle the outstanding waste issues of the province.
"The Liberal government learned, just like the Conservative government
before them, that we would not rest until this issue had been finally
settled. We have had a team of people working on this issue day after day.
We had community meetings nearly every week to update people and
continue organizing. It's been one very long and very hard struggle. This is a
real victory and now we can celebrate."
Note: It is reported that Toronto still is
working toward 100% recycling.
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