Anti-Ajax supporters faced off against supporters of the mine during a rally at TRU Thursday.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
September 13, 2013 - 11:36 AM
KAMLOOPS - A rally against Ajax at Thompson University was rife with cheers and jeers after a dozen mine supporters dropped in.
The rally was hosted by the Kamloops Area Preservation Association and took place prior to the final KGHM Ajax Mining Ltd. information session, attracting a couple hundred people. The mine supporters showed up just as a speaker against the mine took to the bullhorn.
A few of the interlopers walked to the rally followed shortly by a Hummer SUV that tried driving part way into the crowd with the engine revving. The students plastered 'I support Ajax' stickers on their shirts and began yelling at the crowd. It didn't take long before several ralliers surrounded the vehicle to confront them.
The sometimes heated battled was about jobs versus environment and health as the two sides faced off. With the students for the mine showing up nearly halfway through the 30-minute rally the debate didn't last long and the crowd dispersed. The ralliers began a walk around campus just as the KGHM meeting began.
About 30 people showed up for the final information session that took place inside the University. This number was down from the average of 50 or 60 that showed up for the other three meetings. They (Ajax) were somewhat disappointed with the numbers, given they were trying to follow through on a promise to provide more information, something the community had been asking for, external affairs manager Yves Lacasse said.
Lacasse said the low turnout might be due in part to the lack of project specific details available at this time but notes concrete details are something they just can't provide right now given the many studies currently underway and the possible changes to facility locations.
To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca, call (250)819-3723 or tweet @JennStahn.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013