To the editor:
I want to commend local resident, Patricia Spencer, for her unstinting dedication in advocating the views of my family and many others in the Cariboo who have understood clearly that both Taseko Mines' proposals for the Teztan Biny watershed have posed irreversible environmental threats and represented an affront to the rights and interests of the Xeni Gwet'in.
My life became entwined with the economy and environment of the Cariboo in 1963 and has continued for 50 years. My brother, sisters and my daughter have all attended School District 27 schools.
Going back to the 1970s in Williams Lake, I worked in mills, in construction, in retail and in government.
Presently, I contribute to the regional economy as a property owner, a consumer, and frequent recreational visitor to the Chilcotin, in particular the Nemaiah Valley with some of my recreational dollars going every year to lodges, restaurants, gas stations, and private and public camping.
I, therefore, have participated in, and been witness to 50 years of the economic and social ebb and flow in the Cariboo region and know enough not to share in the doomsday scenarios that have been expounded in this newspaper by Prosperity Mine boosters like Len Doucette and Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett.
Now, is the time for the Cariboo, its residents and politicians to move on to new community-based plans to bring about a sustainably based economic future.
My baseball hat goes off to Ms. Spencer and others who have, with quiet determination, conducted a campaign that has represented my concerns and views as a Caribooster. Thank you Patricia Spencer.
Dave Diether
Bridge Lake