OPINION: Bill C-69: a step forward for Canada’s mining sector – by Pierre Gratton (Globe and Mail – September 16, 2018)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Pierre Gratton is the president and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada.

Canada’s natural resource sectors are bedrocks of our economy. Our mining sector, in particular, is widely recognized as a global leader. We’ve also consistently been one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment, even more so when we include oil sands mining.

Today, unfortunately, this provider of three-quarters of a million jobs – the largest private-sector employer of Indigenous Canadians – and 20 per cent of Canada’s exports is at risk, with major implications for the overall health of the economy and our collective well-being.

Put simply, investment confidence in Canada’s natural resource sectors is in trouble. The politicization of pipelines and a decade of legislative uncertainty regarding the review of natural resource projects lie at the heart of it. This politicization needs to end. One way to end it is by encouraging Parliament to pass Bill C-69, the Impact Assessment Act (IAA).

The bill is not perfect legislation. For most mining proponents, it increases the likelihood of, but does not guarantee, timelier outcomes. It will not ensure that all proposed projects will be approved. It will reduce but not eliminate uncertainty.

For uranium mines and mills, this legislation is not better because they will lose the single-window integration of assessment and licensing processes.

For the rest of this column: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-bill-c-69-a-step-forward-for-canadas-mining-sector/