By Neil Horner, Parksville Qualicum Beach News, September 09, 2010

Although Prime Minister Stephen Harper stayed mum during a tour of the site of a shellfish research centre in Deep Bay Wednesday, opponents of a proposed coal mine in Fanny Bay did not.

Police and security guards kept an eye on the sign-carrying citizens Wednesday afternoon.

CoalWatch Comox Valley president John Snyder said he and a handful of protesters were trying to get their point across about their opposition to the Raven Coal project.

“We are here to support the aquaculture industry because they share a lot of the same concerns about the coal mine project,” he said. “The shellfish growers have tremendous concerns. There is the possibility of acid mine drainage over time and if any effluent goes into the aquifer or streams, it will go straight into Baynes Sound.”

Snyder said his group wants the environmental assessment process to be bumped up from a comprehensive study into a joint review panel with public hearings.

“It’s a notch higher and gives greater public participation and we think the residents around here deserve nothing less,” he said.

The protesters were unable to secure an audience with the prime minister, but their cause was given a coincidental, though momentary boost as Harper’s cavalcade swept past on its way to Nanaimo.

A truck preparing to load shellfish from the nearby aquaculture facility backed up across the road just as the line of cars reached the protesters, forcing them to stop briefly.

“Unfortunately, the prime minister didn’t stop to talk with us ... but he got to stare at our signs for a few more seconds — or stare straight ahead,” Snyder said.

news@pqbnews.com

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