Press Release
Public feedback on regulations for the province’s modernized Mining Act will begin to be collected in the New Year.
Broad-based consultations with First Nation and Métis communities, mineral industry stakeholders, and interested members of the public will be held from January-June in many northern communities.
Letters, e-mails and phone calls will be accepted starting in January.
A workbook is now available to guide public comments and consultations. It provides a framework on the “ground rules” that will be implemented within Ontario’s new Mining Act.
These include:
•requirement for exploration plans and permits;
•aboriginal consultation;
•a dispute resolution process for aboriginal concerns;
•map staking;
•protection of sites of aboriginal cultural significance;
•details of the awareness program for prospectors; and
•provisions for the withdrawal of Crown-held mineral rights on private land.
The workbook is being issued now to give everyone time to carefully consider how Ontario successfully can develop and implement the new regulations.
“This new phase of consultation is a very important part of the Mining Act modernization process,” said Northern Development, Mines and Forestry minister Michael Gravelle.
“We are looking to aboriginal communities, industry stakeholders, and interested members of the public to help us develop the best possible regulations, programs, policies, procedures, and information technology solutions for our new Mining Act,” he noted.
Ontario’s new Mining Act received royal assent Oct. 28 after extensive public consultation and legislative review.
In 2006, mining accounted for roughly one of every 45 Canadian jobs.
Canadian miners earn, on average, more than $1,000 a week—the highest pay levels of any Canadian industry.
In Ontario, each mining industry employee accounts for $660,000 of annual output.
