Beneath the Surface: A Podcast by the BC Mining Law Reform Network

Dec 23 2024 13 ep. 28 mins 5
Beneath the Surface: A Podcast by the BC Mining Law Reform Network artwork

Beneath the Surface is brought to you by BC Mining Law Reform, a network dedicated to advocating for mining laws that prioritize environmental and social wellbeing above profit. Each episode delves into the pressing issues at the intersection of environmental advocacy, Indigenous rights, community impacts, and legal reform. Through engaging conversations with researchers, activists, legal professionals, and community members, Beneath the Surface illuminates the challenges and opportunities for mining reform in British Columbia and beyond.

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Does Regulation Delay Mines? w/ Rosemary Collard and Jessica Dempsey

Dec 23 2024 30 mins  
Episode Notes In this episode, we’re joined by geographers Rosemary Collard and Jessica Dempsey to discuss their groundbreaking audit of mining projects in British Columbia. Are environmental regulations really the bottleneck the mining industry claims they are? What happens when the promised economic benefits of mining—like jobs, tax revenue, and production—fall drastically

Challenging the KSM Mine w/ Rachel Gutman

Dec 10 2024 18 mins  
Episode Notes This episode of Beneath the Surface features a discussion about the proposed Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) mine in northern British Columbia. If completed, the KSM mine would become one of the world’s largest gold-copper mines, threatening critical river systems and the communities that depend on them. Joining us is Rachel Gutman, a lawyer with Ecojustice, who is p

Salmon Beyond Borders w/ Heather Hardcastle

Oct 28 2024 30 mins  
Episode Notes In this episode of Beneath the Surface, we sit down with Heather Hardcastle, who helped to found Salmon Beyond Borders, a campaign dedicated to protecting salmon and the vital transboundary rivers that flow between British Columbia and Alaska. We discuss the cultural and ecological importance of salmon, the growing threats they face—especially from mining activity

Mount Polley: A decade of disaster w/ Doug Watt

Jul 31 2024 26 mins  
Episode Notes On August 4, 2014, the Mount Polley mine's tailings storage facility failed, discharging 25 million cubic meters of toxic sludge into Polley Lake, Hazeltine Creek, and Quesnel Lake. This episode features an interview with Douglas Watt, a resident of Likely, a community close to Quenel Lake. We talk about the essay Doug wrote for the academic journal BC Studies, reflec

Mining, tailings, and water pollution w/ Adrienne Berchtold

Jul 22 2024 33 mins  
Episode Notes In this episode of ‘Beneath the Surface’, we explore the impact of mining on water resources in British Columbia, with a special focus on mine tailings and their potential environmental repercussions. Adrienne Berchtold, Ecologist and Mining Impacts Researcher with SkeenaWild, outlines the impacts of mining on B.C.'s water resources, the threat posed by the numero

Canada's "critical minerals" update: implications and insights w/ Jamie Kneen

Jun 27 2024 29 mins  
Episode Notes In this episode of 'Beneath the Surface', we sit down with Jamie Kneen, Outreach Coordinator and Canada Program Co-Lead at Mining Watch Canada, to talk about the recent updates to Canada’s "critical minerals" list. The federal government has expanded the list to 34 minerals, emphasizing their role in fostering economic opportunities. We explore the implica

Mining Claims and Salmon Habitats in a Changing Climate w/ Tara Marsden

Jun 06 2024 27 mins  
Episode Notes As northern BC's glaciers melt, revealing new salmon habitats, these critical ecosystems face imminent threats from increased mineral staking. Tara Marsden, Wilp Sustainability Director for the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, discusses the complex interplay between emerging salmon habitats and the mining industry's race to claim these newly accessible lands. Tara sheds li

Reforming the Mineral Tenure Act w/ Nikki Skuce

May 17 2024 23 mins  
Episode Notes In this episode of Beneath the Surface, we sit down with Nikki Skuce, Director of the Northern Confluence Initiative and co-chair of BC Mining Law Reform, to dive deep into the reform process for British Columbia’s Mineral Tenure Act (MTA). Nikki brings to light the historical context of the MTA, its longstanding impact on Indigenous rights and land use, and why com

Selenium Pollution in the Elk Valley w/ Simon Wiebe

May 03 2024 23 mins  
Episode Notes This episode features an interview with Simon Wiebe, a former mineral exploration geologist and Mining Policy and Impacts Researcher with Wildsight. Wildsight recently commissioned a groundbreaking report shedding light on the staggering costs associated with reversing selenium pollution, estimated at $6.4 billion dollars. Simon unpacks the report's findings and discu

Exploring the Costs of Mining Cleanup w/ Francesca Fionda

Apr 19 2024 28 mins  
Episode Notes We sit down with Francesca Fionda, a reporter from The Narwhal, to discuss the recent investigation she led into BC's mining reclamation funding. Our discussion focuses on the significant shortfall in the funds set aside for reclamation—sometimes referred to as the Reclamation Liability Gap. We also chat about the collaborative nature of the investigation (it was th