Former cabinet ministers say PCs tried to push through silica sand mine after election loss
CTV
Two former progressive conservative cabinet ministers say their own government tried to push through a controversial silica sand mining project just days before the new NDP government was officially sworn in.
Two former progressive conservative cabinet ministers say their own government tried to push through a controversial silica sand mining project just days before the new NDP government was officially sworn in.
In the aftermath of the provincial election, former PC cabinet minister Kevin Klein says he got a phone call on Oct. 12 from his colleague Jeff Wharton – then minister of economic development, investment and trade.
Klein, who was the minister of environment and climate at the time, said Wharton asked him to sign a directive which would allow a license to be approved for Sio Silica.
"I immediately said no, I was not going to do that. In fact, I was quite disappointed and angry that I would even be asked to do something like that," Klein told CTV News.
The project has caused much debate in the province.
Alberta-based Sio Silica wants to set up a mining operation in southeastern Manitoba. The process would extract 1.36 million tonnes of silica sand in an area near Vivian by drilling wells.
A report from the Clean Environment Commission that was released this summer outlined uncertainties about the project's impact on water quality in the region. This prompted protests from area residents who feared it could affect their drinking water.
