After a public consultation process the Government of Ontario has
proposed amendments to the Mining Act. The amendments were introduced in
the legislature this spring and have received approval at first and
second reading. They have been referred to a legislative committee and
there will be limited public hearings this summer.The amendments have
been posted on The Environmental Registry as posting 010-6559 and the
deadline for public comment is July 4, 2009. The web address for the
Environmental registry, where you can record your comments is:
www.ebr.gov.on.ca.BackgroundFOCA has participated in the Mining Act
review process for several years through our representation on the
Minister’s Mining Act Advisory Committee and we will continue to
represent the interests of cottagers. However it is also important that
individual cottagers and associations tell the government directly what
they expect from the revised Mining Act.At the present time Uranium
exploration is of great concern to cottagers in the Shabot Lake area of
eastern Ontario and in the Gooderham/Bancroft area of Haliburton.
Destructive exploration activities have occurred and been documented on
private land and on crown lands abutting private properties. There is a
good website established by the group Fight Uranium Mining (FUME) which
documents the experiences and concerns of cottagers in those areas at
www.fighturanium.com.There was also a good article on this subject in
the May 2009 issue of Cottage Life Magazine
(http://www.cottagelife.com/index.cfm/ci_id/19198/la_id/1.htm).The
Proposed AmendmentsThe proposed amendments, which are well documented on
the EBR posting, appear to address the issue of landowners in southern
Ontario who own their surface rights but not their mining rights by
automatically withdrawing these lands from mineral staking. In northern
Ontario landowners of such lands will be able to apply to have their
lands withdrawn from staking. Unfortunately these provisions do not
apply to lands which are already under active claims such as those in
the uranium exploration areas around Gooderham and Shabot lake.WHAT
STILL NEEDS TO BE CHANGEDIn FOCA’s view the two most serious omissions
from the proposed amendments to the Mining Act relate to the role of
municipalities and municipal plans, and the lack of environmental
assessment.The Role of MunicipalitiesIn Ontario, Municipal Official
Plans do not apply to Crown Land and therefore municipalities have no
say over what happens on crown lands within their areas and mining
exploration can occur right up to the property lines of private land
holders with no municipal input. This means that in areas like
Haliburton where over many decades the economy has been transformed
from mining and forestry based to tourism, recreation and cottage based,
the municipalities still have no say with respect to future mining
exploration and mine development. Residents have been shocked to find
crown land adjoining and near their private lands staked and then
subject to destructive exploration activity while their local
municipalities have no control over what is happening. FOCA believes
that it is in the interests of all cottagers to urge the government to
bring all crown lands, at least in Southern Ontario, under the Planning
Act to ensure that municipal plans and zoning will apply to these lands
and that residents will have the same land use protections they have
with respect to developments on private lands.Environmental
AssessmentMineral exploration activities and mine development can have
major environmental impacts and yet mining activity in Ontario remains
exempt from the Environmental Assessment Act. The proposed amendments
include new provisions related to exploration plans and exploration
permits as well as reference to rehabilitation of exploration sites. But
the details of these provisions will not be spelled out until the
regulations are written after the final passage of the amendments. FOCA
is concerned that the new regulations must be explicit to identify and
mitigate impacts which affect private property owners and crown lands
that that are regularly used for recreation purposes. FOCA believes
that it is in the interests of all cottagers for all mineral exploration
activities to be subject to serious environmental review and that all
mine development must be brought under the Environmental Assessment Act.
WHAT CAN ASSOCIATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS DO?1. You can record
comments on the EBR posting until July 4, 2009. 2. Over the summer
you can contact to your local members of the provincial government. In
contacting members of the Ontario Legislature remember to contact both
your cottage representative and your home representatives
(http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/go2.jsp?locale=en&Page=/members/members_
main&menuItem=mpps_header). Many cottage country MPPs are well
aware of these issues and already representing our concerns. But urban
representatives, who hold the vast majority of votes in the legislature
and in the government caucus, are less likely to be familiar with the
issues and may be surprised to learn that crown lands in cottage country
are not covered by municipal plans, and that environmental review and
environmental assessment do not automatically apply to mining
activities, be sue to let them know that these issues are a concern to
you.
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