Voice Your Concern about Proposed Mining Act Amendments

Voice Your Concern about Proposed Mining Act Amendments

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Under the guise of improving efficiency and reducing administrative burden, the Government of Ontario is proposing alarming amendments to the Mining Act that would significantly weaken existing environmental protection and rehabilitation requirements (ERO# 019-6715).

As explained by MiningWatch Canada, the proposed changes would:

  1. Reduce requirements for mining companies to post bonds or other financial securities to cover clean-up costs after a mine closes;
  2. Allow companies to approve their own closure and rehabilitation plans, without government review or approval;
  3. Allow companies to begin operations before having comprehensive mine closure plans in place; and
  4. Lower standards for rehabilitation by allowing “alternate” uses ...

Under the guise of improving efficiency and reducing administrative burden, the Government of Ontario is proposing alarming amendments to the Mining Act that would significantly weaken existing environmental protection and rehabilitation requirements (ERO# 019-6715).

As explained by MiningWatch Canada, the proposed changes would:

  1. Reduce requirements for mining companies to post bonds or other financial securities to cover clean-up costs after a mine closes;
  2. Allow companies to approve their own closure and rehabilitation plans, without government review or approval;
  3. Allow companies to begin operations before having comprehensive mine closure plans in place; and
  4. Lower standards for rehabilitation by allowing “alternate” uses, conditions or infrastructure to remain on the site after closure.  

To fully grasp the implications of these changes, bear in mind that mining projects do not have to undergo environmental assessments in Ontario. Measures to anticipate and address negative impacts to the environment and surrounding communities are largely addressed through closure and rehabilitation plans and financial assurances. Weakening these requirements essentially downloads environmental, social and financial risks to the public.

And these risks are considerable. As noted in the Auditor General of Ontario’s 2015 report, mining activities can negatively affect groundwater and surface water, soil, air quality, plants and animals, with serious implications for public health and safety. According to the report, there are about 4,400 known abandoned mines in Ontario, with over 15,000 known mine hazards. When mines are abandoned, local communities bear the health and safety risks, while costs for the rehabilitation work, if and when it occurs, fall to taxpayers rather than the companies that profited.

Please join Ontario Nature in opposing the proposed amendments to the Mining Act and ask that they be withdrawn. Mining development in Ontario must proceed only with comprehensive plans for closure and rehabilitation in place, financial assurances that fully cover environmental and health liabilities, as well as the free, prior and informed consent of affected Indigenous communities.

The deadline for public comment through the Environmental Registry of Ontario is April 16, 2023 (ERO# 019-6715).

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Ask the Government of Ontario to Withdraw Proposed Mining Act Amendments

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