COMMENTARY — A work in progress

The author is the federal minister of natural resources. She has written the following article at the request of Keep Mining In Canada, a grassroots campaign designed to increase awareness of the importance of mining in this country.

As minister of natural resources, I am proud of the progress the government is making to keep mining in Canada. With the recent tabling of our response to recommendations made by the House Standing Committee on Regulatory Streamlining, we are implementing some of the most meaningful changes to the environmental regulatory regime for mining in decades.

Mineral development sustains the economies of more than 150 Canadian communities, most of which are in rural and remote areas. In the 1993 election, the Liberal party, through the release of its mining agenda, was the only federal party to make a clear commitment to the mining industry.

Since then, the government has worked hard to meet its commitment and build a climate for a sustainable and prosperous mining industry in Canada. Important steps included our support of the Whitehorse Mining Initiative and progress on regulatory reform through an initiative entitled Building a More Innovative Economy.

Although I am pleased with our work, I recognize that more needs to be done.

The final report of the House Standing Committee on Natural Resources, entitled Streamlining Environmental Regulation for Mining, outlined a number of recommendations to improve mining’s regulatory regime.

The government’s response to these and earlier recommendations includes some 50 actions that represent a comprehensive, forward-looking program to create a regime that stimulates jobs and growth in all regions of the country, while maintaining high standards for environmental protection. For example: * We are developing new rules under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act to provide greater certainty for the industry. Environmental assessment panel reviews will now have specific time limits to ensure that the review process is consistent, effective and timely.

* We are amending the Fisheries Act to clarify the requirements for proposed mining projects. At the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, officials will review the 1986 Policy for the Management of Fish Habitat to consider all legitimate users of water resources, including the mining industry. The goal of that review is to ensure that decisions regarding fisheries — as well as any other regulatory decisions — integrate economic, social and environmental objectives.

* We are also amending the Navigable Waters Protection Act in order to clarify the definition of a navigable body of water and reduce the number of projects that trigger federal regulatory processes.

Natural Resources Canada and other departments will monitor progress on these and other regulatory reform measures and prepare a report this summer.

I believe the government’s initiatives will ensure that the federal regulatory regime promotes sustainable development, provides greater certainty, reduces delays and costs related to decisions on the environment and land use, and eliminates duplication between federal and provincial governments.

Canada is already an excellent place in which to invest. We now have an economic and fiscal regime that is attracting worldwide acclaim and attention, and a geological base that is second to none. Exploration investment in Canada has more than doubled since 1993, and the 50 regulatory reform initiatives are yet another step in an ongoing process to attract exploration investment. This, in turn, will help keep mining in Canada, where it can continue to make a valuable contribution to job creation and our overall economy.