Municipalities muzzled by the Mining Act

Mining companies are “in a position of strength” against cities, deplores the Fédération québécoise des municipalities (FQM), which is once again calling for an end to the precedence of the Mining Act in Quebec. The recent case of Saint-Urbain, in Charlevoix, demonstrates “to the first degree” the lack of control of local elected officials over the development of the territory.

In search of titanium, the Canadian mining company NioBay recently obtained authorization to drill on Terres du Séminaire, a private estate belonging to the Séminaire de Québec. The site in question intersects a large part of the perimeter of Saint-Urbain, which however has no leverage to intervene.

Despite unfavorable opinions from the municipal council, the MRC of Charlevoix and the MRC of Charlevoix-Est, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests (MRNF) still granted an impact work authorization to NioBay.

Although there is no guarantee that a mine will see the light of day after the exploration phase, the mayor of Saint-Urbain, Claudette Simard, did not hide her feeling of helplessness in the face of this decision by the ministry. .

Fundamentally focused on tourism, vacationing, hunting, fishing and the development of its landscapes located in the heart of the world biosphere reserve, the region fears the impacts of the development of the mining industry.

Faced with the accomplished fact

The FQM is sensitive to the cause of Saint-Urbain and deplores the centralization of decisions at the MRNF.

The Federation has also been trying to change the rules of the game for several years in order to give local communities leverage. She denounces an unequal fight with mining companies, favored by Quebec regulations.

If you have a player who, when he starts, is always a winner, how do you want to have a fair game for everyone?asks Claire Bolduc, prefect of the MRC from Témiscamingue in an interview with Radio-Canada.

In his opinion, the population is too often faced with a fait accompli. The community learns of the existence of mining potential once a mining company already has exploration rights and permits to carry out operations on the ground, she laments. Companies already have data, plans and tools to defend their projects.

Here, we are in a context where it is always the mining company which has all the expertiseshe explains. Municipalities find themselves thus powerless to thwart the will of an entrepreneur.

Precedence

Currently, municipal planning and development plans, which establish the overall vision and zoning on their respective territories, cannot exclude mining activities if exclusive mining rights (claims) are in force.

The Law on Development and Urban Planning becomes ineffective when it comes to mining exploration and exploitation.

This principle of precedence should be prohibited, according to the FQMin order to truly take local priorities into account. The organization is asking Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina to include this modification in her reform of the mining regime, the bill for which is currently under study in the National Assembly.

The Federation calls for planning and development plans to be the number one element for planning, including for mineral resources. This is what the diagrams are for, so that, collectively, we can determine the main directions of a territory.

Social acceptability

Claire Bolduc is not against mines. Herself elected in a region where the mining industry is well established, she sees a wealth for all Quebecers. I am for mining. […] We need strategic minerals for our computers, our telephones, for our household appliances.

This wealth is, however, not not relocatable and must therefore be exploited where it is found. In some cases, this means having to deal with conflicting visions of socio-economic development and land use. Ms. Bolduc has it against the ways of doing thingswhich unnecessarily provoke confrontations.

Claire Bolduc’s observation is simple: acceptability does not have the same meaning throughout the province. Where the mining industry is not yet established, shocks are almost inevitable. The issue is different in environments where there is no mining activity and where other activities are more important, such as tourism.underlines Ms. Bolduc.

This is exactly what is happening in Charlevoix, where the tourism industry raised a flag after the NioBay announcement. Saint-Urbain demonstrates the problem of the precedence of the Mining Act in the first degree.

When you come up with a mining project that will significantly modify the landscape, that will modify certain natural attractions, that people frequent these environments, that can make an impact.

Decide collectively

The mining industry would also benefit from putting an end to precedence, believes the FQM.

Claire Bolduc believes that if Quebec modifies its rules to push mining companies and local populations to collaborate upstream of projects, there is a risk of more fruitful partnerships. We wouldn’t find ourselves faced with a project that arrives and “bang”.

If the guidelines are given in the development plans, the parties will be able to better define what can or cannot be explored. She sees this as an opportunity to create predictability, both for the mining industry and for the communities that receive the mining.

The industry is worried

The Quebec Mining Association (AMQ) is however not favorable to the request of the FQMespecially since she is already worried about several provisions included in the Legault government’s bill.

Its president, Josée Méthot, believes that several measures will limit the ability of industry to access the territory. The new law notably provides for the end of mining exploration on private lands, with the exception of areas where claims are already in force.

If we reduce exploration possibilities, we reduce Quebec’s mining potential and the sustainability of an industry that contributes more than $12 billion to the GDP from Quebecshe pleaded to the National Assembly two weeks ago, during hearings on the bill.

In an interview this week, Josée Méthot was not more open to letting go of precedence. According to her, municipalities already have tools to limit mining activity.

It recalls the establishment of territories incompatible with mining activities (TIAM) in 2016. According to this principle, the MRC can identify areas where industry could not establish itself.

The MRNF proposes a certain number of criteria and must approve the TIAMs proposed by the municipalities. However, it is impossible to designate a TIAM if a mining claim is active there. In Saint-Urbain, for example, the mayor mentioned the presence of claims on three quarters of its territory.

The FQM, for his part, believes that TIAMs would become useless if these unsuitable areas were directly integrated into development plans. These must be redone this year at the request of Quebec. The Federation sees this as the perfect opportunity to repeal the principle of precedence.

Josée Méthot also praises a new rule in force since May 6. Mining companies now have an obligation to consult local populations when they wish to carry out impact work, such as drilling or stripping.

The MRNF indeed requested opinions from local elected officials, but did not take them into account.