A peaceful rally was organized at noon today in Carcross to protest plans by the White Pass and Yukon Route to spray pesticide along the railway right-of-way.

Colleen James, chair of the local advisory council, said there is concern in the community, particularly since the railway runs parallel to the shores of Bennett Lake.

Bennett Lake, James points out, is the source of drinking water for the community of 500-plus.

“I get the sense the community is really uncomfortable with the idea of White Pass and Yukon Route using herbicide and pesticide to spray the railway,” James said in an interview Monday.

Chief Andy Carvill of the Carcross-Tagish First Nation could not be reached to comment on White Pass’ proposal.

He was attending today’s anti-pesticide rally, along with NDP MLA Kevin Barr and many other locals.

James said as a representative of the advisory council, she has three primary concerns with how the proposal has unfolded.

More attention needs to be paid to the local area plan which has been adopted but is still awaiting supporting regulations, she said.

James said the area plan does have a mechanism to address these types of environmental issues.

Secondly, she said, while there was a bit of a public meeting held the evening of July 7 at the First Nation’s offices, it was not well advertised, so was not that well attended, she said.

James said there should have been greater attempts to notify Carcross residents of the proposal, and greater attempts to put together a public meeting of greater substance.

Thirdly, she said, there are questions about why the proposal to spray pesticide along the rail line from the B.C. border to just outside the community did not trigger a review by the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board.

Bennett Lake, after all, drains into the headwaters for the Yukon River, she pointed out.

James said White Pass representatives were respectful of the concerns raised at the July 7 meeting. They did assure those in attendance that the pesticides in question are commonly used and are not dangerous if handled properly.

Representatives of Environment Yukon were also in attendance at the meeting, she noted.

White Pass’ request for permission to spray pesticides along a 25-kilometre stretch is being handled by Environment Yukon through the permitting process set out in the Environment Act.

Environment spokesman Eric Clement said this morning a decision is scheduled for Monday.

The matter is not being handled by the assessment board because the products being proposed are not restricted, he said.

YESAB is only triggered in these cases when a restricted product is proposed, he added.

Clement said If the project is approved by Environment Yukon, there may be additional conditions imposed and the department will explain the reasons for whatever the decision is.

The proposal calls for spraying the right-of-way to kill vegetation that can affect the integrity of the line and consequently the safety of White Pass employees and the travelling public.

It’s not practical to use other methods of controlling the vegetation such as prescribed burns or having a crew do the work by hand, the proposal noted.

The proposal emphasizes only certified technicians will apply the herbicides, which are approved for use in Canada.

It says there will be no spraying within 15 metres of any water course, and if the wind speed exceeds eight kilometres per hour, the operation will be shut down.

The sprayer is designed to spray just above ground level.

The proposal is to use Carcross as the staging area where the herbicides will be stored and mixed at the White Pass yard.

The spraying is expected to take a couple of days.

Keith Seaboyer arrived in Carcross in May to teach a clean energy construction course. He said in an interview last Thursday he is volunteering his time now to help organize opposition to the proposal, including today’s rally.

There is substantial resistance in the community, he insisted.

Seaboyer said the White Pass yard is essentially in the middle of town, next to the Carcross Commons tourist area and not far from the train station.

Nor is it far from the local daycare, he said.

Seaboyer said scores of Canadian municipalities have outright banned the use of pesticides because of their toxic makeup.

Many, many Canadians were poisoned by pesticides last year, he said, adding half were children.

Any industrial accident during the handling or application of the products could be devastating for the community, he suggested.

Seaboyer said he personally called the office of federal Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett to have her intervene.

He has sent emails to Premier Darrell Pasloski and his minister of Tourism and Environment, but has not heard back.

Officials with White Pass could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon nor this morning.

The products proposed for the project are Arsenal Powerline, Vantage XRT and Hasten.