Parts of Ontario fell under a blanket ban on new mining permits because of a lack of legal certainty for companies. This created many companies who were unable to commence work. (Graphic: TTJ Cameron/PW Photo)
Parts of Ontario fell under a blanket ban on new mining permits because of a lack of legal certainty for companies. This created many companies who were unable to commence work. (Graphic: TTJ Cameron/PW Photo)
Mines in Canada’s largest province, Ontario, are among the most dangerous and expensive to extract. One company in particular, Ontario Palladium Inc., has had to shut down seven smelters worth more than $18m over the past 20 years due to environmental concerns.
The company’s success relies on its mineral deposit.
Olympic Peaks Gold Corp., which runs a gold mine in Ontario’s Low Lake region, estimates that Olympic Peaks has 95 potential gold deposits throughout its holdings. However, the company still needs an environmentally-friendly extraction solution.
In June, it received provincial approval for an open-pit gold mine to extract the minerals after a legal battle, but it was a plan that was a long time coming.
In its application to Ontario’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Olympic Peaks said the process it created for searching for the mineral was “based on extensive research and innovation over many years” and that it had developed more environmentally-friendly methods than any of its competitors.
Under the government’s new environmental regulations for mining, the process is now broken down into three different sections:
Environmental feasibility: Organizing a “research-based and case-based plan” is necessary before companies can access the environmental research that is necessary to conduct a technical analysis and prove that an extraction method would be environmentally-friendly
Organizing a “research-based and case-based plan” is necessary before companies can access the environmental research that is necessary to conduct a technical analysis and prove that an extraction method would be environmentally-friendly Environmental review: The ministry must review the environmental impact statement to ensure the science is sound and satisfies its standards
The ministry must review the environmental impact statement to ensure the science is sound and satisfies its standards Critical environmental assessment: Companies must confirm that the final environmental impact statement complies with the law
Now, it appears they are trying to establish what the final environmental impact statement actually is, using outdated and inaccurate data.
Revealing preliminary results of two independent reviews carried out on the company’s mining application, Canada’s ombudsman for indigenous peoples, Perry Bellegarde, is calling on the province to re-evaluate all its approvals for existing mineral projects.
“It is shocking that almost 20 years after the first Olympic Peaks report was provided, a company cannot update an environmental assessment report and that the process remains discredited,” he said in a statement.
Bellegarde cited multiple different reasons why the process should not be more challenging: First, data is scarce; second, it could endanger the health of nearby indigenous people; and third, as the MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh, Bellegarde noted that the integrity of environmental assessments could also be compromised if the information used to draw conclusions is incorrect.
In an exclusive interview with NPR Canada, Bellegarde further explained the de facto blanket ban on Ontario mining permits currently in place:
“They banned the mines in Ontario because of the lack of legal certainty in that process. That’s happened since before I got here. That’s the reason. And so I think the mistakes that have been made with the application should not have been allowed in the first place.”
The ombudsman is calling on all mining companies to review their environmental impact assessments to ensure that all the relevant information is known before they enter the application process.
Since December 2011, Ontario mining regulations have included new and updated requirements for supporting information about mining on new land and on behalf of aboriginal communities. However, the law only applies when companies have found commercially viable deposit, reports Waverley News.
This story was produced by the PW Photographers Press Club (G) in collaboration with NPR Canada and its G Vote. The stories were researched and written by Gatineau, Quebec. All video produced by Greta Watson.