Legislation without compensation

After 10 years of effort, legislation protecting Canada’s endangered species is likely to become law this fall.

Bill C-5 is to receive second reading by the Senate when Parliament reconvenes and, if approved, will then receive royal assent.

However, the question of compensation for resource-users remains unresolved in the legislation.

Bill C-5 says government must develop regulations to deal with compensation and that compensation should be fair and reasonable.

“Eligibility remains an open question,” says Pierre Gratton, vice-president of public affairs and communications for the Mining Association of Canada.

Environment minister David Anderson is said to be opposed to compensation for those who operate on Crown land. However, he asked resource economist Peter Pearse to review the issue, and Pearse said resource-users should be eligible.

“At the end of the day, my guess is Environment Canada will not be able to give blanket refusal for compensation, but it will be conditional,” says Gratton.

William Mercer, president of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), says explorationists are concerned that any uncertainty about the potential to bring a prospective property to development will seriously erode the ability of junior companies to raise capital.

“The problem is, it increases risk down the road and acts as a disincentive to exploration,” he says.

As a service to members, he adds, the PDAC is considering putting together the underlying information regarding species at risk and the mineral potential of Canada to see if there is a high probability of species-at-risk locations coinciding with areas of exploration potential.

— The preceding is from In Brief, a publication of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada.