In threatening a tariff and trade war with Canada, U.S. President Donald Trump may have inadvertently done Canadian resource industries like mining a favour by lighting a fire under the seats of government officials, who are now talking about the importance of resource development to Canada’s economy, removing barriers to accelerate it, and refocusing on trade diversification.
At the last day of the Association of Mineral Exploration (AME) Roundup conference this morning, Premier David Eby acknowledged his government has not focused enough on growing the economy, and pledged to hurry things along when it comes to mineral exploration and mining.
While hyper-focusing on things like First Nations reconciliation, his government has failed to talk enough about the importance of growing the economy and generating wealth, he said.
“It’s a challenge that NDP governments face – let’s be honest with ourselves,” Eby said. “If anything, NDP governments have to say it twice as much that we understand and prioritize this.”
He said economic growth is a core priority in the mandate letters he has sent to all cabinet ministers, including a new the mines ministry, which has been hived off from Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation to a standalone ministry.
“We need to grow our economy, we need to expedite permits, we need get to metals and minerals out of the ground, and that is one of the reasons why we emphasize the reconciliation work.”
He pointed to the missed opportunity of “Fish Lake” (i.e. the New Prosperity Mine) -- a massive copper mine project that was rejected, in part, because of opposition by the Tsilhqot’in First Nation at a time when the question of Tsilhqot'in rights and title were still being determined by the courts.
“I think of Fish Lake… where you identify a world-level mineral or metal deposit…and we can’t get it out of the ground," Eby said.
He talked about the importance of getting other new projects started, like the massive KSM copper-gold mine project, which he said would generate 1,800 jobs and billions in investment in B.C.
Despite an embarrassment of resource riches, B.C. can be a tough place to do business for resource industries, thanks to its high environmental standards and processes, and lingering uncertainty over aboriginal rights and title – something the government has been striving to address through reconciliation efforts like the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and, more recently, changes to the Mineral Tenure Act’s administration process for claim staking – something that the junior mining sector fears may squelch investment in mineral exploration.
“It’s not lost on me that this is a complex place to do business in British Columbia,” Eby said.
Both the Canadian and B.C. governments have embraced critical minerals as a top priority with respect to resource development, all the while adding more time and red tape to regulatory and permitting processes.
There are 14 critical mineral mine development projects proposed in B.C. Eby said his government is working to speed up permitting.
“I believe we are at a watershed moment as a country, and certainly a key moment as a province, where there is a consensus about the need to accelerate, to ensure we are developing these resources," he said.
That consensus includes many First Nations leaders, Eby said. Earlier this week, he attended a First Nations leadership gathering.
“I can tell you, with assurance, that those leaders understand as much as any other government leaders in this province and this country the importance of a strong resource development sector, including mining sector, in our province,” Eby said. “There’s a shared commitment there.”
He said he created the new Ministry of Mines because he wants the ministry “entirely focused on your sector.”
Eby said the threat of tariffs from the U.S. has resulted in a “sharpening of the mind.”
He reiterated that B.C. will respond to tariffs with a three-pronged approach that includes supporting federal government retaliatory tariffs, diversifying trade, and “strengthening” B.C.’s own economy.
Part and parcel of that is reducing permitting times. He said major mine permitting times have already been reduced by 30 per cent.
“We expect even greater acceleration around permit approvals across the province, working with the Ministry of Land and Resource Stewardship," he said.
He also said his government will focus on trade diversification and developing and expanding markets outside of the U.S.
“We don’t want to ever be in the position again to be as dependent as we are on the United States,” he said.
Asked if his government would be accelerating notice of works permits, Eby said it would, adding staff levels at the Ministry of Mines will be increased to address backlogs.
The top concern for the junior exploration sector in B.C. right now is a new claim staking process coming into effect March 26 under the Mineral Tenure Act -- changes that address the government's duty to consult with First Nations.
AME CEO Keerit Jutla said prospectors and junior miners doing the early exploration work to identify potential new mines are sometime one-person operations that just don’t have the capacity to deal with the increasing complexity around First Nations consultations.
Eby said the duty to consult First Nations is not an obligation on prospectors – that’s the government’s job. But that doesn’t mean junior miners can’t take it upon themselves to try to develop relationships with First Nations themselves at the early exploration stage.
“There is a huge desire among Indigenous communities to participate in resource development in their territories,” Eby said.
He noted his government has a $1 billion dedicated fund for First Nations to assist them in participating in and investing in resource development projects.
“It is possible to work to work in partnership, I think, at the exploration and prospecting level – something that hasn’t yet happened at scale but I think could,” Eby said.
“It’s not required by the changes, but one of the things that I’ve seen is that, where there is strong relationships all the way through, from the initial staking of the claim to development of the project with nations, it goes so much faster. Where nations are equity partners in a mine, permits move very quickly.
“When nations feel excluded from the process, or things are happening to them, then things move a lot slower.”
