Fight Uranium Mining and Exploration (FUME)

Please publish your letters here.

2008-09-03T06:18:00.000-07:00

Please support the Three Modest Proposals concerning mining in Ontario (below) by submitting your comments on Mining Act Reform to the EBR Environmental Registry.

Once your comments have been submitted to the EBR Environmental Registry, you will not be able to see or retrieve them. As such, in order to maintain a record of some of the comments received by the Government, we ask that you post the message you are sending to the Provincial Government here first by using the "Comments" link beneath this post. You can then cut and paste the message into the EBR Environmental Registry and submit your comments to the Province.

Once you have submitted your comment to this site, we will receive an email notifying us and we will then authorize the post to this blog site.

Thanks very much for your support at this critical time!

Three Modest Proposals

2008-09-03T05:47:00.000-07:00

THREE MODEST PROPOSALS CONCERNING MINING IN ONTARIO

Changes are urgently required to the rules that govern mining and mining exploration activities in the Province of Ontario so as to ensure that the rights, the interests and the health of the citizens of the Province are no longer made subordinate to the interests of mining firms.

While we are pleased that Minister Gravelle has acknowledged the need to modernize the Mining Act, we most strongly feel that a longer, more open and more meaningful consultation process is required, and that the proposals that have been made by affected parties after many years of considered discussion are included in the changes to the Act.

Through years of work, a number of well-informed individuals and groups have proposed three modest changes that aim to correct the most fundamental problems created by the extraordinary privileges that the current mining legislation gives to mineral exploration and mining firms.

The Three Modest Proposals listed here are consistent with what has been proposed by community groups, municipalities, environmental bodies, politicians from all levels of government, and municipal politicians working through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).

These Three Modest Proposals call on the provincial government to treat all land owners fairly and equally, and to give land owners, municipalities and all affected persons a proper say in all mining-related activities that would have an impact on them, their rights, their responsibilities, their health and their livelihood.

Proposal 1: - Single Ownership - RE-UNIFY MINERALS WITH Land
The Government of Ontario re-unite all provincially-owned mining rights with land that is privately owned and municipally taxed.

This step will:
ensure that the 2% of property owners who do not own the minerals under their property have the same rights as the other 98% of property owners;
permanently resolve the problems of two owners to one property: where land owners, whose deeds assure the right to the private enjoyment of their property, can lose that right because the government allows prospectors to lay claim to the minerals under their land and to conduct exploration and mining activities on their land without the owner’s consent; and
bring an end to the discriminatory provincial mining acreage tax being levied on those properties where the owners already pay municipal taxes on their lands.

This is consistent with the resolution passed by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) on June 22, 2007

Proposal 2: - Local Planning - STRENGTHEN MUNICIPAL PLANNING POWERS
The Provincial government give municipal governments: the ability to develop and to enforce official plans including mineral land use designation; and thus the subsequent authority to zone lands so as to restrict the locations in which mining activities can be undertaken, in accordance with municipal needs.

This will result in a better balancing of the importance of mining, agriculture, recreation and tourism to the economy of Ontario, and ensure more open and transparent governance that respects the different realities in different regions of the province.

Proposal 3: - Impact Authorization - REQUIRE A REVIEW and ANALYSIS OF IMPACTS
The Provincial government require a comprehensive public review of the impacts of proposed mineral exploration and mining activities before such activities can be undertaken by anyone.

This will ensure that mineral exploration and mining activities will cause no adverse legal, health, environmental and property impacts.

These Three Modest Proposals offer a positive step towards balance, by changing provincial legislation and procedures that allow mining firms to claim and to take publicly owned minerals and to engage in mining activities in ways that put the environment, the legal rights, the properties, the investments, and the health of Ontario’s citizens at risk.
The three modest proposals are completely in line with the duty of governments:
to protect the rights and interests of all citizens;
to manage the resource wealth of the Province in a way that balances the rights and interests of all;
to protect the ecological systems upon which all citizens depend; and
to protect the health of all citizens throughout the province.

Bancroft Uranium to expand its holdings in Tory Hill.

2008-05-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

Bancroft Uranium Inc. is expanding its holdings in Tory Hill. According to the press release on Bancroft Uranium's website:

"Bancroft has recently implemented a land acquisition program comprised of claim staking all prospective ground that ties onto and is in proximity to the Monmouth Uranium Project. The initial size of the Monmouth claim block and Bancroft land position of 2,700 acres is being expanded to 4,200 acres.

The additional acreage is a reflection of the positive nature of the initial analyses from drill data being compiled from the 2008 spring program. As drill results and uranium assay intervals are being tabulated by Company engineers, the decision to increase claim holdings by additional staking was undertaken by Bancroft management.

In conjunction with the staking program, Bancroft is currently in ongoing discussions with other uranium exploration companies that have prospective claim holdings in proximity to the Monmouth Project. Bancroft is aggressively seeking joint venture opportunities with groups exploring in the area.

Bancroft Uranium believes that companies with mutual interests having the ultimate goal of developing uranium deposits into commercially viable operations could create a broad regional play with several companies involved. This may provide the potential for the creation of a central milling and uranium processing facility that would serve various parties in a more cost effective fashion."

Stay tuned to our website for more details as they become available.

Uranium: Impact on Haliburton County An Information Session

2008-05-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

Environment Haliburton!
presents

Uranium: Impact on Haliburton County
An Information Session

When: Saturday, May 10, 2008
12 noon – 4 p.m.

Where: Sir Sandford Fleming College
Haliburton Campus

Cost: Admission is Free
Speakers will include:

John Kittle - Overview of uranium issues and opposition in eastern Ontario
Linda Harvey (retired MD) - Health issues
John Hudson (retired United Church minister) - Effects on First Nations
Dave Burton (Reeve, Municipality of Highlands East) – Analysis from the perspective of local government
Valerie Hunnius (Paudash Lake Conservation Association) - The Paudash Lake experience, environmental impacts and clean up
Robin Simpson / Christine Atrill (F.U.M.E.) - The current situation in Highlands East
Michael Swinwood (lawyer) - Available to discuss a possible class action lawsuit

Discuss the issues and get answers to your questions

Algonquin Highlands Support Moratorium!

2008-04-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

Yet another township in Haliburton County has added their voice to the growing chorus of municipalities and townships around Ontario who support a moratorium on uranium mining! On April 18th, The Township of Algonquin Highlands became number 17! We don't have much information as of yet, but we heard word today by phone that the resolution to support a moratorium on uranium mining and changes to the Mining Act was unanimously passed by the council of Algonquin Highlands.

FUME would like to thank the Township of Algonquin Highlands for their support and consideration of this issue.

Haliburton County Council supports moratorium!!!!

2008-04-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

FUME is pleased to announce that on April 24, Haliburton County Council adopted a resolution asking the McGuinty government for a moratorium on uranium mining in support of the original Highlands East resolution. There is one more township to support the resolution, Minden Hills will likely vote on it at their next meeting however the Reeve and Deputy Reeve have already voted for the County resolution so it is likely to pass. That is 5 more local governments asking McGuinty to shut down uranium mining making the total 19 municipalities. Hopefully he is starting to listen.

BC bans uranium exploration!

2008-04-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

Thu Apr 24, 9:32 PM ET

Canadian province bans uranium exploration

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - British Columbia shut the door on exploring for radioactive minerals on Thursday, saying companies cannot claim rights to them even if the discovery is by accident.

The western Canadian province does not have uranium mines, but several companies have been doing exploration work and the mineral can be found when looking for other resources. The country's only active uranium mines are in the Prairie province of Saskatchewan.

British Columbia said has revised its mining rules to prohibit companies from staking claims for uranium and thorium even when it is discovered as part of a broader project.

The province has already prohibited the building of nuclear power plants.

(Reporting Allan Dowd, editing by Rob Wilson)

Living on Earth as if we want to stay

2008-04-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

Who: Mike Nickerson, author, Life, Money & Illusion; Living on Earth as if
we want to stay

What: Discussion on Sustainability and a way forward

Where: Haliburton Fish Hatchery - 66712 Gelert Road

When: April 24, 2008, 7 - 9 pm

Sponsor: Gaia Centre, gaiacentre@sympatico.ca Carol Kirby www.gaiacentre.org
____________________________________________

"Living on Earth as if we want to stay" is an international speaking tour
drawing attention to the challenge of the day. Lanark, ON resident, three-
time author, Mike Nickerson is facilitating workshops and participating
in discussions around the theme of Nickerson's latest book,
Life, Money & Illusion; Living on Earth as if we want to stay" He and his
wife, uranium activist, Donna Dillman are visiting communities across
Canada and in the USA, from the last week of March until the end of September
and will be in Haliburton at the Fish Hatchery, 66712 Gelert Rd, on April 24th
from 7 to 9 p.m.

"Cures do not result from treating symptoms. The cause must be addressed.
While Climate Change has captured public attention, it is a symptom of a
greater challenge. That challenge is that the human species has grown to
fill its planet," says Nickerson, who has spent his entire adult life, almost
four decades, educating on sustainability issues.

"It is odd," he continues, "at a time when our biggest problems are the
result of our size, that our leaders maintain that more growth is the
solution. Like adolescents approaching adulthood, our society clings to its
carefree past. Since most adults have been able to make that transformation
successfully, there is good reason to believe that our society will also
accept its maturity. With willingness to face the problems, the answers need
not be complicated."

Nickerson's latest book, "Life, Money & Illusion: Living on Earth as if we
want to stay," details the differing views on how to be successful in our
changing times. One, the "Life" perspective, says we need to preserve and
enhance ecosystems and communities, the other, the "Money" perspective,
says we need to continuously expand production and consumption. These
two approaches differ significantly on how they would deal with today's
most serious problems.

Life, Money & Illusion, a 2007 Nautilus Book Award finalist, distributed
by New Society Publishing, suggests a way forward, offering up new ways
of organizing mutual provision (the economy) and a change in priorities
that can lead to a long and joyous future.

For more information, see:
http://www.SustainWellBeing.net/LMI/Welcome.html
http://www.SustainWellBeing/LMI/tour_to_come.html for tour details.
www.uraniumcitizensinquiry.com
www.ccamu.ca
Contact
Donna Dillman
613-259-9988

Dysart et al supports moratorium on uranium mining!

2008-04-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

According to an article by Greg Hoesktra in this week's Haliburton Echo (April 15, 2008), a second municipality in Haliburton County has signed on to support a moratorium on uranium mining and changes to the Mining Act! The Municipality of Dysart et al has become the 16th municipality to support a moratorium on uranium mining! We do not have the details of the resolution as of yet thought it appears to be a similiar, if not the same, resolution passed by Highlands East. According to the Echo, Highlands East Reeve, Dave Burton, took the resolution to Dysart et al.. Dysart Reeve, Murray Fearrey stated that he had received a number of phone calls from concerned residents. Democracy works, folks (at least locally ;-) )!

FUME would like to thank the Council of the Municipality of Dysart et al for signing on to this resolution and a special thanks to Reeve Dave Burton of Highlands East for bringing the resolution to Dysart. Thanks to the residents of Dysart et al who expressed their concern.

That makes 16 councils in Ontario and we expect more to follow! We think its time McGuinty take notice!

We will forward more details as they become available.

Highlands East supports moratorium on uranium mining!

2008-04-10T05:28:00.000-07:00

After months of discussion between council and community members, Highlands East Municipal Council has passed a resolution supporting a moratorium on uranium mining and exploration in Highlands East!

Reeve Dave Burton has agreed to take this resolution to county council and FUME planning to take this resolution to the three other surrounding municipalities that make up Haliburton County. We hope that the surrounding municipalities will join with Highlands East and 12 other municipalities in Ontario and pressure the Province of Ontario to call a moratorium on uranium mining and exploration.

FUME would like to take this opportunity to thank the council of Highlands East for their consideration, concern and support. We look forward to continuing the positive working relationship we have developed with council in the future. We would also like to thank the many concerned citizens who have been voicing their opposition to uranium mining and exploration in Haliburton County. Your voices are being heard!

The drills in are in and other news...

2008-02-25T20:23:00.000-08:00

Bancroft Uranium moved their drills in this week. A press release was issued on their website announcing the commencement of their drilling program. Robin went over to have a look and was immediately met by 3 big guys and asked to leave.

We have contacted the lab regarding water tests and are awaiting the delivery of the bottles by courier. We hope they will arrive very soon.

We are currently in the process of getting FUME organized. In the very near future we will be setting up committees and recruiting volunteers to help with all the work that needs to be done to stop these guys.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Bancroft Uranium meeting in Wilberforce to voice their opposition. We definetely had'em outnumbered! We stole the show! There was also lots of great coverage in the local papers.

Robin & Christine

Weighing The Risks of Nuclear Energy

2008-02-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

Toward A Renewable Energy Strategy for Ontario

An Evening with Dr. Michael D. Mehta

Friday, March 7
7:00 pm

Peterborough Public Library
345 Aylmer Street North

Admission: Free
(donations accepted)

A Question and Answer session will follow Dr. Mehta’s presentation
Coffee and tea will be served

Michael D. Mehta specializes in science, technology and society with a focus on health and environmental risk issues. Dr. Mehta is Professor of Sociology at the University of Alberta and Executive Director of the Population Research Laboratory. The Population Research Laboratory at the University of Alberta is the largest social sciences research centre in Western Canada.

Dr. Mehta has authored the following books:
· Risky Business: Nuclear Power and Public Protest in Canada
· Biotechnology Unglued: Science, Society, and Social Cohesion
· Nanotechnology: Risk, Ethics and Law
· Environmental Sociology: Theory and Practice

Brought to you by SAGE
For more information, email goSAGE@yahoo.ca

FUME Public meeting Wed., Feb. 13, 2008 at 7pm

2008-02-09T09:44:00.000-08:00

FUME is hosting a public meeting on Wednesday, February 13, 2008, 7:00pm at the Glamorgan Community Centre in Gooderham.

Everyone is welcome.

Please contact us if you'd like more info.

FUME meeting Feb. 6 has been cancelled until further notice due to the impending snowstorm.

2008-02-05T16:37:00.000-08:00

Please contact us if you have any questions.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Christine & Robin

FUME is hosting a meeting

2008-02-02T12:46:00.001-08:00

FUME will be hosting a meeting on Wed., Feb. 6, 2008 in Gooderham for anyone who is interested in fighting uranium mining and exploration with us. If you would like to attend, please email us for the time and location at fighturanium@gmail.com.

Bancroft Uranium has hired Patrick Moore to be their PR guy.

2008-02-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

In a news release dated Jan 28 on Bancroft Uranium's website, it was announced that Greenspirit Strategies has been hired to do their PR. It was also announced that Patrick Moore has joined their advisory board. Rumour has it that they will be hosting a meeting Feb. 15 in Wilberforce. We will advise of details once they become available.

There's plenty of info on Patrick Moore on the net. He is ex-Greenpeace and now a shill for the nuclear industry, the logging industry, plastics, mining, GMO's, etc.. Here are some choice links about him:

http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0228-20.htm
http://www.fanweb.org/patrick-moore/quotes.html
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Patrick_Moore

We've made the papers again!

2007-12-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of local media coverage of the uranium issue in the past week. The Haliburton County Echo contains two articles written by Matt James: one is about Bancroft Uranium's Monmouth Uranium Project and the other is about us. Pick up a copy of the Echo (December 18, 2007, Vol 124 No. 51) and check it out. In addition, the current issue of The Highlands Courier (Dec. 7 - Jan. 8) contains a number of articles regarding the uranium exploration activity happening east of us in Frontenac County.

We have spoken with a lab in Kingston who will test our water for roughly $15 per sample. We should have all the details finalized shortly after the Christmas holiday.

Thanks to everyone who has shown their support.

Happy Holidays!

Robin and Christine

Update on Uranium Activity in Highlands East (and elsewhere)

2007-12-05T15:43:00.000-08:00

Sadly, Bancroft Uranium Inc is going to begin drilling on their Monmouth claim in January, 2008. The claim is located along Hwy 503 in Tory Hill. The Irondale River runs through it. You can find more information on their website.

We are currently investigating getting our water tested for uranium. We encourage everyone to get their water tested now so we have baseline readings before drilling begins. Once we determine the cost and procedure, we will coordinate the water testing for all who are interested in participating. We will have more information on this in the next couple of days.

We recently had a letter to the editor published in the Star in response to their article on Donna Dillman's hunger strike. Donna Dillman, a grandmother from eastern Ontario, has been on a hunger strike since early October to protest uranium mining in her area. Visit the Canadian Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) website for more information on the situation in eastern Ontario.

Finally, hunting season has passed and we have been hearing rumours of continued staking activity in our area.

The word is out and interest is growing rapidly! Thanks to everyone who has contacted us and shown their support.

Christine and Robin

Fight Uranium Mining and Exploration in Haliburton

2007-10-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Uranium Exploration in the Haliburton Area

As you may or may not be aware, the Highlands East and Bancroft areas are actively being staked and claimed for potential uranium mining and exploration. Currently, roughly 17% of Monmouth township has been staked (appox. 8500 acres). This includes both private property and crown land. El Nino Ventures, one of the two larger stakeholders in Monmouth, has claimed a total of 9,765 acres in Faraday, Cardiff and Monmouth townships and is currently exploring the Amalgamated Rare Earth claim in Monmouth. Another prospector has claimed roughly 5,000 acres in Monmouth.

Your land could be staked! In Ontario, most property owners hold only the surface rights and not the mineral rights to their land. This means a prospector (anyone who applies and pays the $25 licence fee) could come on to your land without being required to notify you and claim the mineral rights. The mineral rights holder can then start exploring (this could include drilling, digging, stripping, building roads, etc. ) on your land. Under the Ontario Mining Act, there is nothing the surface rights owner can do to stop this. But we can try! For more information on mining and mineral rights in Ontario, follow this link to the Government of Ontario website.

How This Affects You

Health: Uranium causes cancer! This report from the BC Medical Association triggered a seven year moratorium on uranium mining in BC.

Environment: Potential contamination of drinking water. The Irondale River runs right through one of the large claims. The Irondale links to the Burnt River and the Drag River which feed many of the lakes in Haliburton. Open pit uranium mining WILL contaminate the river. Any accident would cause widespread environmental catastrophe. Though government might say safety is their highest priority, even the most modern uranium mines in Saskatchewan have flooded and been closed down. 100 PERCENT SAFETY CANNOT BE GUARANTEED!

Nuclear energy is dirty energy, don't be hoodwinked by those who tell you it's "clean energy". This website from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission lists the Bicroft and Dyno Mines in Cardiff, which were producing uranium mines in the 1950's, as being under a waste facility licence.The mine tailings sat for 40 years before anything was done and then all they did was berm the "pit". (I have been told by a friend that the "pit" is actually a swamp between two lakes, more on this soon). The tailings from uranium mining have a half life of a half million years. Since there is no ideal way of storing radioactive waste, the waste dumps will need to be managed by future generations in perpetuity to avoid environmental disaster. If we mine uranium now, we leave a colossal mess for future generations.

Property: Uranium mining and exploration will decrease the value of your property! Would you buy land that was claimed for potential uranium mining? Would you want to live near a uranium mine? Would you want to live down river from one?

Who we are

We are a group of residents in the Highlands East area who are concerned about the detrimental effects that uranium mining and exploration will have on our health, our environment and our homes. Many of us are directly impacted by the staking activity that has gone on in our area. Contact us at fighturanium@gmail.com.