Ontario’s Building More Mines Act law will give more sway to experts over bureaucrats, says Pirie

Ontario’s new Building More Mines Act aims to drastically cut timelines of mine permits and plans to get operations opened faster, says Mines Minister George Pirie.

Originally drafted as Bill 71, the new legislation amended the Mining Act and received royal assent on May 18. Regulations to support the act are under development.

In an interview on June 14 at his office in Queen’s Park in Toronto, Pirie told The Northern Miner that in the committee meetings on environmental regulations before the act was passed, the ministry heard the environmental process described as a “merry-go-round” of consultations.