Indigenous women stake claim on B.C. mines minister Bill Bennett's property

A group comprised of indigenous women who push for responsible mining practices has staked a claim on property owned by B.C. energy and mines minister Bill Bennett.

In a Tuesday (January 24) news release, Bev Sellars, chair of the B.C.-based First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining (FNWARM), announced that the purpose of the mining claim is to demonstrate how easy it is to claim resources on land without the owner's knowledge or permission.

"If you thought it was something only First Nations had to worry about, think again," Sellars said in the release, which also noted that the announcement is timed to coincide with the Association for Mineral Exploration B.C.'s Roundup Week conference taking place in Vancouver.

"Anyone can do it in just a few minutes," Sellars, chief of the Xat'sull First Nation (near Williams Lake), noted about going online to stake a mining claim. "And they do not even need to ask for permission or even inform those persons whose land they are staking." She added in the release that she merely went to a provincial government centre to obtain a $25 free miner's certificate, then went online to quickly stake the claim "for a fee of $104.89".

On its website, FNWARM states that it is comprised of First Nations mothers and leaders whose "priority is to protect their homes, communities and traditional lands and waters from the type of mining practices that have left B.C. riddled with close to 2,000 abandoned mines—two thirds of which are still spewing pollutants."

The organization was prominent in the opposition to B.C.'s proposed Prosperity Mine that the federal government rejected (although the project is supported by the B.C. Liberal government).

The release did not specify whether the claim was for residential or recreational property owned by Bennett, who won election as Liberal MLA for East Kootenay in 2001 and received the energy and mines portfolio in 2013.

Ministry of Energy and Mines spokesperson Suntanu Dalal told the Straight that Bennett would not be available for an interview. Dalal also confirmed that no official response has been issued regarding today's announced FNWARM claim-staking.