The province is proposing a few changes to the Mines Act and it wants British Columbians to provide some feedback.
The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources has created a new Mines Health, Safety and Enforcement Division. The division’s priorities are health, safety, compliance management, enforcement activities and auditing.
The division has been created thanks to a $20 million funding boost to the ministry.
“Our government’s number one priority for this foundational industry is safety — for workers, our environment and communities,” Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Michelle Mungall said.
“We’ve invested $20 million over three years to hire more inspectors on the ground and ensure more frequent inspections. The feedback that we receive from British Columbians will be critical for informing how we improve our mining laws and ensure that mining in B.C. is done right.”
The ministry proposes the following changes to the Mines Act:
- Separate specific authorities and decision-making powers under the Mines Act to ensure authorizations and permitting are separate from enforcement and auditing powers
- Establish an independent oversight unit with an auditing function
- Enhance compliance and enforcement provisions
The Mines Act regulates all mining activities in BC. It also covers applications and permits, health and safety, investigations, and compliance and enforcement in the mining sector.
The survey is available online from now until October 25th.
Click here for a link to the survey. Feedback can also be sent via email at minesactproposal@gov.bc.ca.
