The Quesnel Women's Resource Centre (QWRC) and Osisko will not to continue with a partnership aimed at addressing social issues linked to the Cariboo Gold Project.
QWRC and Osisko were in talks for more than two years on how to handle issues around gender-based violence, substance abuse and family violence, a news release from the QWRC says. It adds those concerns are expected to intensify as the mine project continues.
Over the two years of discussion, the QWRC provided input on the social impacts of the Cariboo Gold Project the organization said.
“We are disappointed that after such extensive dialogue, Osisko will not be supporting our work,” said Emily Neilsen, administrative Coordinator of QWRC. “Our centre deals with critical community issues every day, including family violence and substance abuse, which directly impact the people of Quesnel. We will continue our efforts to serve and support the community, but it is unfortunate that this opportunity to collaborate with Osisko has come to an end.”
QWRC says they are committed to supporting people in the community. “We welcome the opportunity to work with corporations and partners who value the safety and well-being of all community members,” Neilsen added.
Calls to justice in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and girls directly calls on resource extraction organizations to prevent violence against women and girls.
"We call upon all resource-extraction and development industries to consider the safety and security of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, as well as their equitable benefit from development, at all stages of project planning, assessment, implementation, management, and monitoring," call to action 13.1 says.
The calls to justice also include that governments better study the impacts of resource extraction camps on communities, especially when it comes to violence against women. The release from the QWRC included examples of studies and articles linking violence against women to work camps in the resource extraction industry.
Osisko said they are working with community organizations throughout the Cariboo. They recently donated $10,000 to Seasons House which will be used to support unhoused people in Quesnel.
“We actively identify and evaluate opportunities to partner with various support groups across the region that best align with our approach to maximize positive social impact. We remain committed to sustaining these efforts into the future. This includes partnering with organizations that focus on the issues mentioned, including the Amata Transition House Society," a spokesperson from the company said in an email statement to The Quesnel Observer.
“We are committed to addressing and working with the community to strengthen and build social supports in accordance with the Environmental Assessment Certificate for the Cariboo Gold project," they added
They said the organizations in the community they are committed to working with includes Seasons House, Nourish Food Bank, the Quesnel Tillicum Society and more.
The Cariboo Gold Project will be based in Wells, it will be an underground mining operation. It secured Environmental Management Act (EMA) permits for the project in December and is forecast to process around 1.1 million tonnes of gold-bearing ore per year.
