2009-04-30
07:42:58
Changes to Ontario's Mining Act will recognize Aboriginal and treaty rights, but stop short of giving First Nations communities a share of mining revenues.
Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle says the changes include a provision to make significant Aboriginal cultural sites off limits to claim staking. The legislation will address conflicts between mineral exploration companies and what the government calls "surface rights holders." The bill would withdraw mining rights in southern Ontario where surface rights are privately held.
In northern Ontario, private land holders could apply for a withdrawal, but the mineral potential of the land would have to be considered before the withdrawal would be approved. The changes will also broaden the list of lands not open to staking, and require better notification of private land owners after a claim is staked but before exploration begins.
The government will also phase in a map-based staking system to eliminate the need for prospectors to enter private property to take claims, starting in southern Ontario.
