16 | LEXPERT • June 2014 | www.lexpert.ca
QUÉBEC
MINING
REFORMS
After multiple attempts,
Québec has fi nally reformed
its Mining Act SANDRA RUBIN
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
«
MINING IN QUÉBEC
AS ANYONE WHO reads international headlines should know by now, Québec
politics is not for the faint of heart. So it shouldn't come as a complete surprise that reforming the
province's mining regime proved to be a bruising aff air.
" e fi rst three attempts fell apart with the government and its two main opposition parties repeat-
edly at odds over competing claims by industry, environmentalists and Aboriginal communities.
Fourth time lucky. In December, a multi-party deal was brokered and a Bill amending the Québec
Mining Act adopted in a special one-day recall of the legislature that limited debate.
As it turns out, the compromise came weeks before the announcement that mining investment
in the province had plunged nearly 37 per cent in 2013, the fi rst year-over-year decline in a decade.
" e timing may not be a coincidence.
" e hope is the new measures will be enough to restore the province's reputation as a mining-
friendly jurisdiction. Canada is home to almost 60 percent of the world's mining companies and 75
percent of all mine fi nancing, and Québec is an important part of that.
A global cyclical downturn with rising costs and weak demand are certainly partly to blame for
the province's slump. But many industry sources also blamed uncertainty over mining regulations
and the four years of very public political squabbling over how to fi x them.
Most people are relieved the instability is over and hope the amended framework will be enough
to restart the investment tap. Does that mean everyone's happy with the revisions? No. In fact, many
senior mining practitioners say important elements of the new rules are too murky.
" at uncertainty is causing them concern.
