The company behind a proposed open-pit gold and copper mine that will fall partly within Kamloops city limits has waded into the waning days of the civic election campaign, sending a letter to voters listing candidates who oppose the mine.
The letter has increased tensions ahead of Saturday's vote. KGHM International's Ajax mine project, which would be within three kilometres of a school, has emerged as a divisive issue, even though the province, not municipal leaders, will decide whether it goes ahead.
The company sent the letter late last week, and KGHM registered with Elections BC as a third-party sponsor on Monday. According to Elections BC rules, a company must register before sending such information to voters.
Kamloops resident Michael Crawford, a former federal NDP candidate, complained about the letter to Elections BC.
"Whatever social licence or trust this company has in this community I think has been shaken," Mr. Crawford said.
The letter included a list compiled by the Facebook group Support Ajax Mine that categorizes candidates as either "opposed to Ajax" or "waiting for scientific studies."
In a copy of the letter obtained by The Globe and Mail, Yves Lacasse, the external affairs manager for the Ajax project, wrote: "While we encourage everyone to vote, we would never tell anyone how to vote.
"At the same time, we support transparency, and trust that with factual information in hand, Kamloops residents will make good decisions about the future."
City council candidate Dustin McIntyre said he was surprised to see the letter – especially since it put him on the wrong side of the list.
Mr. McIntyre, who has publicly opposed the mine, was listed under the "waiting for scientific studies" column. He said he was never contacted by anyone from the Support Ajax Mine Facebook group to confirm his position and does not believe the company did its own research to make sure the list was accurate.
"Constituents are asking me, why is your name on that list?" he said. "I want to have a dialogue about the mine, but KGHM needs to follow the rules.
"Ajax has now pitted councillor against councillor in a very public way."
In October, the company posted a statement about the election on its Facebook page, saying, "KGHM Ajax wants the community to know we will not offer any candidate direct or indirect financial support in this civic election campaign."
A company spokesman declined an interview, but said in a statement that it has kept its promise by not financially supporting any candidates, although it is within its rights to do so.
"KGHM sought legal advice about whether it was required to register with Elections BC to send this letter to its supporters. We were told that because the letter and the list of candidates were not being broadcast to the public, but rather were a private communication with our supporters, it is not election advertising requiring registration with Elections BC," the statement said.
But Elections BC disagreed with the claim that the letter went only to supporters.
"The information that [KGHM] sent out was transmitted to the public," said Don Main, the communications manager for Elections BC.
KGHM filed its third-party sponsor registration paperwork on Monday. Mr. Main said no one with the company would be fined over the breach.
KGHM sent the letter after a mailing from the Kamloops Area Preservation Association urged residents to vote against candidates who support the mine.
Association spokesman John Schleiermacher said his organization registered with Elections BC as a third-party sponsor in advance. He believes KGHM's letter has backfired.
"I think people have realized who they're dealing with," he said.