Recent Rise Gold CEO, Ben Mossman, was CEO and Mine Manager of Banks Island Gold in British Columbia in 2015 when environmental regulations were breached. After being found guilty of 13 counts, he was sentenced to $30,000 Canadian dollars.
Read the full article in The Northern View.
Excerpts:
“By failing to ensure that the Yellow Giant Mine had protocols in place to avoid the very failings for which he was convicted, Mossman is the author of his own misfortune,” said Judge David Patterson, Prince Rupert B.C. Provincial Criminal Court.
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While Patterson determined Mossman was remorseful for his actions, the Prince Rupert judge said the former CEO and his company were “lucky” their actions did not lead to a full-blown environmental disaster.
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The mine’s environmental breaches affected not only the island, but also the Gitxaała people, according to Patterson.
“Not only does violating mining permits potentially jeopardize the environment,” he said. “But in the present case, the offences jeopardized the rich resources and economy of the Gitxaała Nation as well as the spiritual beliefs of its people.”
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While Gitxaała Chief Councillor Linda Innes said the Nation is happy to see Mossman held accountable, she was dissapointed in what the Nation deemed an insufficent punishment.
“While Mr. Mossman is certainly accountable for the horrendous example of what happens when bad mines are allowed to operate without clear oversight and accountability to Indigenous Rights and Title holders, these shamefully light administrative penalties amount to nothing but small fractions of the costs of correcting the devastation left behind,” Innes said.