VICTORIA – Ten days after the tailings pond failure, the B.C. Liberals have still not released the most basic documents about the Mount Polley Mine, say B.C.’s New Democrats.

“We have been calling for the full release of documents related to this mine for more than a week, and we’ve seen nothing from the B.C. Liberal government yet,” said New Democrat Leader John Horgan.

Horgan noted that the mines ministry response to a request on behalf of the Official Opposition for a copy of the mine permit was “we are NOT sending out the permit at this time.”

The Opposition subsequently wrote directly to the ministry on Aug. 11, but still no permit has been released publicly.

“How can British Columbians have any confidence in the B.C. Liberal government when they cannot produce even the most basic piece of information about Mount Polley’s operations and tailing pond requirements?” asked Horgan.

Horgan said that the release of these key documents would be a simple first step to allowing the public to begin to understand what happened, and ensure it doesn’t happen at any of British Columbia’s other major mines.

“This is just one more example of how a truly independent investigation of the tailings pond dam failure is critical to the restoration of public confidence in B.C.’s mining industry,” said Horgan.

“We can’t trust the B.C. Liberals to provide even the basics, so we need to take the decision-making away from the government,” said Horgan.

“Without an independent review, we’re never going to regain the public confidence that everything will be done to guarantee that regulations are in place, inspections are vigorous and enforcement is happening to ensure safe, sustainable resource development in B.C.”