John Rustad, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines, and Mary Polak, Minister of Environment gave the following statement regarding the government's decision to appoint a mediator to help address the protest of the Arctos Anthracite coal project near Mt. Klappan.

"Government is supportive of the legal right of any company who has worked within our laws, regulations and processes to be able to safely perform work within the scope of their Notice of Work and subsequently the Mines Act permit.

"Government has immediately appointed Geoff Freer as an intermediary to facilitate dialogue between the Tahltan First Nations and Fortune Minerals in an effort to allow the Arctos project to proceed. Our government is committed to ensure there is no risk to water and other important environmental values.

"Our government has a long-standing working relationship with the Tahltan including a Strategic Engagement Agreement. Under that agreement a level 4 working group was established on Sept. 11, 2013. We will continue to participate with the Tahltan in that existing working group to fulfill our commitment to explore protection in the rest of the Klappan."

Contact:

Media Relations
Ministry of Environment
250 953-3834