Quebec Takes Another Stab At Reform Of The Mining Act

On May 29, 2013, Martine Ouellet, Quebec Minister of Natural Resources, tabled Bill 43, which would partially replace the existing Mining Act. This is the third attempt to reform the Act, both of the earlier attempts by the previous Liberal government (Bill 79 in 2010 and Bill 14 in 2011) having died on the order paper.

Bill 43 includes measures to achieve certain objectives that the provincial government identified in its proposed new mining tax regime, which we discussed in our May 2013 Legal Update, such as the desire to have more ore processed in Quebec and to achieve greater transparency in mining operations. The other amendments contained in Bill 43 are very similar to those contained in the previous government's Bill 14.