http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Ontario is a “laggard” among Canadian provinces in the time it takes to approve mining exploration permits, said a new report by the Fraser Institute.
A survey of mining executives shows Ontario has a lot of work to do in gaining the confidence of the industry when it comes to expediting permit approvals and providing greater transparency and certainty in the overall permitting process.
Twenty-five per cent of industry respondents believed permit approval times had lengthened “considerably” in Ontario in the last 10 years, with an additional 43 per cent answering it had increased “somewhat.” Saskatchewan continues to be an industry leader and fared well in the survey.
Respondents gave the Prairie province a high approval rating with 87 per cent indicating that they received the necessary permits within six months or less. British Columbia came in at 80 per cent, and Quebec was at 76 per cent. Ontario finished at 64 per cent.
When industry was asked how often government timelines were synchronized with their own company schedules and milestones for permit approval decisions, Saskatchewan came in at 53 per cent. Conversely, British Columbia was at 38 per cent, Quebec at 22 per cent and Ontario was at 22 per cent.
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