I n d u s t r y S p o t l i g h t
EXISTING AND FUTURE land claims
and doubts on environmental rules have
added a layer of uncertainty to an already
diffi cult environment in the Canadian min-
ing and resource sector, as companies strug-
gle for development cash in a nervous and
unsettled market.
With oil prices sagging, and global capital
markets looking askance at mining and
resources, lawyers say both the Tsilhqot'in
Nation v. British Columbia aboriginal land
rights case, and the new recommendations
and likely regulations after the Mount
Polley tailings dam disaster are adding to
the gloom.
"These developments, Tsilhqot'in and
Mount Polley, have added to the consider-
ations that investors consider when they
are looking at investing in Canada," says
Paul Cassidy, a partner in the business law
group at McCarthy Tétrault LLP in
Vancouver. "Are they using
these two factors as
the tipping point to
make or not make
an investment deci-
sion? I think that's too hard to say. The in-
vestors we deal with are much too sophis-
ticated to rely on one mine incident or one
court decision as a tipping point."
The 2014 Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Co-
lumbia case was the Supreme Court's fi rst
declaration of aboriginal title, a ruling that
the band holds title to land in the interior
of British Columbia that it has used over
generations. The decision has im-
plications for provinces where
First Nations have no treaties
dealing with land use, in-
cluding parts of Quebec
and the Maritimes.
But the biggest im-
pact is being felt
in resource-rich
Uncertainties in Canada's
resource sector
Mixed bag of market detractors having an impact
on extractive sector.
BY JANET GUTTSMAN
