Canadian Lawyer

LEGAL REPORT/MINING LAW has an act on sustainable development and we felt it was only coherent for the government to place its major resource legislation under the guise of sustain- ability. people or do what other measures are "reasonable. historically a purely economic piece of legislation dealing only with the eco- nomic issue of how to develop mining resources. The amendments introduce social and environmental factors. Several aspects of the bill are con- " The Quebec Mining Act was versial — it's an item mining companies don't like because they say 'we don't like to be at the mercy of municipalities,'" says Piette. "The mining companies have opposed this provision." The government has responded by " "It has been very contro- sidered controversial. It establishes that for every mining project there must be a citizen's committee established with the co-operation of the mining operators to follow up on the develop- ment of the mine and to maximize the economic benefits associated with the mining activities. "Mining opera- tors will have to sit down with citizens and authorities of discuss what are the benefits the com- munity can derive from these mining operations — that will establish a per- manent dialogue, the local towns to bill 14 would potentially allow more than 1,000 municipalities in Quebec to implement different rules for different companies in their respective jurisdic- tions. All mining projects in Quebec will " says Piette. It means also be subject to mandatory environ- mental assessment and review and pub- lic hearings will take place before any new project goes ahead. Rehabilitation and restoration plans will be mandatory and made available to the public before the public hearings. Citizens will have the opportunity to comment or object to the rehabilitation plan proposed by the developer. Mining operators will also have to post a bond equivalent to the full estimated costs of the reclama- tion plan. Bill 14 also increases the financial "Bill 14 is important for Plan Nord because what investors in mining companies need is a clear, stable, and predictable regulatory framework in which they can operate." Hugo-Pierre Gagnon, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP guarantee required to cover the reha- bilitation of mine sites to 100 per cent from 70. Mining companies will also have to pay a minimum of 25 per cent of the guarantee in the first year of opera- tion. It will also reduce the time allowed to pay the guarantee to three years from the current 15, and it will have to be the estimated cost of the totality of the proj- ect even if the company goes bankrupt. any mining operators in Quebec, says Piette. He points to the Osisko Mining Corp. gold mine in the Abitibi region — the first company that voluntarily post- ed a bond equivalent to 100 per cent of the costs of rehabilitation. "When you have an important mining project there is obviously a lot of money to be made and mining operators can factor it into their operating costs," he says. "Right now, if you look at mining projects like Stornoway, and various iron ore proj- ects, these gold mines have accepted to operate under these rules; it's a cost of doing business." The So far the measures haven't deterred the province the power to prohibit or restrict mining activities in certain sec- tors, including urban areas or land ded- icated to recreation. However, a mining operator could strike a deal with the local municipality and pay to move legislation would also give 44 SEPTEMBE R 2012 www.CANAD I AN Lawyermag.com saying it will only apply to residential or urban perimeters and it will establish a map fixed for a 20-year period. "People will not be able to say they want to create a recreational area in order to oppose a mine — once decided it will stay put for 20 years," he says. "I think the majority of companies see it as workable; that they can live with these rules." The Fraser Institute has suggested aspects of bill 14 are reminiscent of British Columbia's experience in the 1990s where mining declined and B.C.'s share of Canadian mineral exploration fell to 5.7 per cent in 2001 from 29.2 per cent in 1990. This was due to the B.C. government's 1995 decision to halt the Windy Craggy mining project create a park that enveloped the site. This effectively expropriated the com- pany's investment and created a cloud of uncertainty over mining policy in B.C. "After the Windy Craggy deci- sion, which was an ad hoc decision made by premier Mike Harcourt at the time because of the significant oppo- sition to the project, it led to a lot of consternation in the mining commu- nity, to with Vancouver-based Bull Housser & Tupper LLP. The B.C. government paid in excess of $100 million in compensa- tion to the major shareholder. Amendments were made to the " recalls David Hunter, a partner Mineral Tenure Act after Windy Craggy with respect to lands taken for parks under s. 11 of the B.C. Park Act, which gives the minister of energy and mines broad authority to expropriate mineral interests for cultural heritage resources or any other purpose if the minister considers that the surface area or right to minerals should be used for pur- poses other than mining. "It's a very broad power to expropriate but imme- diately below it they added s. 17.1 to the

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