Right on the heels of a solution to one of the area’s most hotly debated environmental issues, Vancouver Television is presenting an encore presentation of Britannia: A Company Town.
The one hour documentary highlights what was once the largest copper mine in the British Commonwealth. Drawing on archival footage and residents’ memories, it examines the drama among the Britannia townspeople, government, businesses and environmental groups as they attempt to cope with the ecological disaster left by the mine. The film chronicles the town’s demise to a near ghost town, and those who still choose to live in a community scarred by a rusted, run-down copper mine.
The provincial government last month decided on a public-private split of financial responsibilities for clean up of North America’s worst acid mine drainage site. However, the government had to threaten legal action against several of the potentially responsible companies before they stepped up to the table. The rebroadcast of the documentary is a timely one, considering the looming provincial election.
Britannia: A Company Town airs Saturday, May 12 at 9 p.m. on VTV.
