Letter to the editor: Federal regulatory oversight of mining strengthened under the Conservatives

Last week’s editorial (T.N.M., Oct. 26–Nov. 1, 2015) entitled “What to expect from a Liberal government in Canada” mistakenly describes the Conservative government’s environmental reforms as they relate to mining, prompted perhaps by reading inaccurate news reports, of which there have been many over the years.

Regrettably, this has become a common misunderstanding shared by NGOs and other media in thinking that regulatory oversight of mining diminished under the Conservatives when, in fact, the opposite is true. The fact is, mining projects dominate the workload of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, and more projects are subject to federal environmental assessment today than they were before the Conservative government’s reforms. Amendments to the Fisheries Act are the same story. The mining sector continues to be subject to this statute, although other resource sectors, not so much.

A key concern for the mining sector is whether any future reforms take into account the reality of current, significant federal regulatory oversight for mining projects. We do not expect to skip federal approvals, but we do expect project reviews to be timely and efficient. 

As the new government examines the effects of the previous government’s regulatory reforms, we will be sure to tell them what was not done, what still needs to be done and what steps are needed to make sure we have a regulatory regime that is balanced, fair, protective of the environment and also efficient to ensure that Canada’s mining sector can continue to contribute to our country’s prosperity.

Pierre Gratton, President and CEO
The Mining Association of Canada
Ottawa, Ont.