Canada

Joint news release with Ecojustice and the Canadian Environmental Law Association: Ottawa, ON – Today, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Canadian government has violated a national environmental law aimed at ensuring sustainable development. In a case centered on the proposed Red Chris mine in British Columbia, the Court ruled that the federal government cannot split projects into artificially small parts to avoid rigorous environmental assessments. The ruling also guarantees that the public will be consulted about major industrial projects, including large metal mines and tar sands developments.

In February, an independent committee awarded MiningWatch $37,200 to participate in the environmental assessment of Taseko Mines’ proposed Prosperity Gold and Copper Mine. The project area is 125 km south west of Williams Lake BC and within the traditional territory of the Xeni Gwet’in, members of the Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG).

As MiningWatch celebrates our 10th anniversary we are pleased to also be celebrating the one year anniversary of Quebec’s new voice on the mining industry “La coalition pour que le Québec ait meilleure mine!”, roughly translated as “The Coalition to Put a Better Face on Quebec Mining.” (There’s a double-entendre in the name as mine means ‘appearance’ or ‘face’ as well as ‘mine’ in French.) MiningWatch is an active member providing our input, analysis and a small partner support grant to the Coalition.

Extensive revisions to Ontario’s Mining Act were approved by Queen’s Park on October 21, 2009, and received royal assent a week later. The new Act follows commitments made by Premier McGuinty to “modernize” the Act and strike a balance between the diverse interests that are affected by and involved in the sector. Though another round of consultations took place as part of the legislative process while the bill was under Committee review, few substantive changes have been made since the bill was introduced in the spring.

On November 3, 2009, the Nova Scotia government passed a bill called the Uranium Exploration and Mining Prohibition Act. The purpose of the act is to “prohibit exploration for or mining of uranium in order to protect the health and safety of Nova Scotians and the quality of their environment.” MiningWatch commends the government of Nova Scotia for taking the initiative to legislate the moratorium that has been government policy since 1981.

MiningWatch has applied to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency for funds to participate in the review of the environmental assessment of Quebec’s most advanced uranium project. The Matoush Project is located in north-central Quebec near Mistissini, 550 km north of Montreal and within the area covered by the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement between the Quebec Cree and the federal and provincial governments.