Editor,
A look down the Cheakamus River is a crying shame! To see such an amount of little frys and salmon all dead.
CN Rail should not be running their so-called business until they are accountable for their awful mistakes and clean up the mess they are making. The life of the river and plants and trees, not to mention the animals who rely on the life of the river, are so great they should be billed millions of dollars for everything that died and probably will take a few years for the life of the river and nearby estuary and ocean to be the same again.
In nearby Squamish the pulp mill killed everything - the seafood and salmon our family used to fish for, and because of man's accomplishments the sockeye salmon don't come to Squamish anymore, we have to travel to the Fraser River to fish for sockeye salmon!
What next? Please make CN Rail accountable for their mistake!
If they aren't accountable to do the clean up, shut down their business now!
Diana Billy (Swanamia)
Wai Wa Kum Reserve, Brackendale
Environment takes back seat
Editor,
Well,it appears CN is having some problems with its rolling stock. Funny how over the years BCRail did not drop rail cars full of "crap" into a fish sensitive river or lake
One could only wonder why this happens with this type of foreign company, you want somebody to blame start with the sell off by Campbell and company, and a company with no roots in any B.C community!
Combine this with B.C. Hydro's wish to reduce the flow at Daisy Lake, so that river will be toast for sure.
If people are looking to the DFO to take the lead, well don't hold your breath with this government bureaucracy - their track record so far is very poor.
The environment with the Liberals seems to have taken a back seat; fish stocks have no protection from fish farms or wayward companies wanting to make a quick buck in good old B.C.
Rivers throughout B.C have a tough time surviving with logging, mines, Hydro, and now this.
Future generations will look back and wonder what were we thinking, that's of course if there is anything to look at in terms of returning salmon?
Quite pathetic!
Brian Gustason
Squamish
Deadly water, not dirty
Editor,
"Dealing with dirty water". That was your headline in last week's paper. I couldn't believe my eyes. Not "Dealing with deadly water" but "dirty water". Dirty water is what kids play in when they're making mud pies. What happened in the Cheakamus Canyon and ended up in the Cheakamus and Squamish Rivers is a tragedy of major proportions, killing every living organism for miles in both of them, and who knows how many other little creeks, and waterways. It poisoned the wells of farmers and householders living nearby, destroyed the livelihoods of campsite owners and others who depend on fishers and other outdoor enthusiasts for their living. To treat it so lightly makes me wonder if there's any true appreciation of what we have in this valley.
When I looked up this chemical on the Internet one of the first description words is lye, and it says it's "Poison! Danger! (their exclamation points) Corrosive, may be fatal if swallowed. Harmful if inhaled, causes burns to any area of contact. Reacts with water, acids and other materials.
"Health Rating: 4 Extreme (Poison)
"Contact Rating - 4 Extreme (Corrosive)"
And on and on. I suggest you look it up on your computer and see what horrors this material can do. The only thing even more horrifying is that under Ecological Effects, it says:
"Environmental Fate: No information found. Environmental Toxicity: No information found."
They don't want us to know. Either that or they didn't even care enough to do the science. I wonder why that is? What will it do to the eagles this winter? What happens to the animals that eat these thousands of dead fish? The cougars, coyotes, bears, birds?
Dirty water indeed. Dirty deeds by huge corporations that don't care if they kill our whole sacred earth, building a certain number of lawsuits into their financial plans.
I am heart-broken over what happened to our rivers and all the organisms and life forms whose home they were and hope that when the public meeting is called that the people rise up and call for all of these types of materials to be either done away with completely or transported in such a way that this will never be able to happen again.
And please, a little more respect for the seriousness of such a loss to the ecology of the so-called Recreation Capital of Canada. A big chunk of it was just murdered, in what you chose to call "dirty water".
Mary Billy
Squamish
CN must pay
Editor,
Well, I had wondered how long it would take. When you increase the speed of the train and have fewer track patrols, and an attitude by management that is run by an American that the only thing that counts is the almighty dollar, could that be why we now have a huge environmental disaster in the canyon?
The Alberta government just slapped CN with a cleanup and protection order over the last one.
Mr. Campbell, get your rear in gear and do the same. Our mayor should also be on the horn demanding that an order be issued, and also that CN lower the speed especially through Brackendale and Squamish.
Why does the railway go very slow through the North Yards and downtown then speed up through Brackendale where there are houses close to the rail line? There are no rail workers in the North Yards so why do they not speed up through there. Next derailment could be in Brackendale with demolished houses and possibly the death of some residents.
I think the DOS can come up with a bylaw that would restrict the speed through this town. Other places have done it with bylaws so why can't we?
The mayor and council can do this if they want to, or will it come down to the fact that like most other disasters, wait 'til it happens then think about fixing it? The chemical spill damage will take years to recover from. I think the people in this town should get the message to the mayor then stand behind him and support him to bring CN to their senses before the next disaster comes closer to town.
Larry Law
Squamish
