Mining industry, business groups in NWO call for better support for mining from next provincial government

Whichever party is elected as the next government of Ontario needs to show better support for northwestern Ontario's mining industry if some of the region's major developments are to move forward, industry and First Nations groups say.

"We need Queens Park to actually recognize us more," said Garry Clark, executive director of the Ontario Prospectors Association. "We need more money put into exploration to move things forward."

The provincial election takes place Thursday. While much of the focus has been on the Ring of Fire, there are many other mining projects in the region that are moving forward, said Iain Angus, co-chair of the Northwest Energy Task Force.

"There's 41 major projects working their way through, with 37 of them advanced to the point where they're saying they can be operational by 2033," Angus said. "That's not too far away."

The task force recently released a report showing an additional 250 megawatts of power will be needed if those 37 mining projects do reach the operational stage.

"It takes seven years to build a transmission line," Angus said. "And while a lot of these mining projects are close to the existing grid, a number of them are not."

Jason Rasevych, president of the Anishinawbe Business Professional Association, said the province needs to ensure it meets its duty to consult First Nations, as well.

"We've seen there's been some communities that have been able to progress on their exploration agreements with some of the companies related to employment and having community based discussions on some of the exploration activities," he said. "But we still see there's challenges from the existing mining regime that's here in Ontario around meeting the bare minimum of duty to consult."

"In Ontario there's been a number of injunctions due to the Crown failing and its obligations to properly consult with communities," Rasevych said. "And this shows we need to evolve the mining regime to one of a consent-based approach, somewhat similar to what we're seeing in British Columbia."

Rasevych said he'd also like to see the next provincial government fund some of the development work, up-front, for mining companies to work in partnership with First Nations who are the rights holders in an area.

Angus said, meanwhile, power needs to be a priority.

"We've identified a number of areas where new transmission lines are required if those mines are to be powered up with electricity, as opposed to natural gas or diesel," he said. "That needs to be accelerated because quite frankly, without the power, the mines may not happen."

Clark added that more investment from Queen's Park will be required.

In the Ring of Fire, he said, things are moving about as fast as they can, given the need for exploration, roads, and power.