In December, 2015, the province of British Columbia announced it would not lay Mines Act charges against
Imperial Metals Corporation for a catastrophic dam breach at its
Mount Polley mine. On August 4, 2014, 8 million cubic meters of mining
tailings and materials, along with 17 million cubic meters of
water, were released into nearby lakes and water resources from the
mine in that breach.
The B.C. Chief Inspector of Mines found that while there were
weak practices, no legal contraventions of mining legislation
occurred. If the Mines Act had allowed for
administrative monetary penalties ("AMPs"), it might
have been a different story.
Other provincial and federal laws allow for AMPs. An AMP system
is intended to move offences into a civil penalty system avoiding
the need to prove an offence in court. Recommendation 4-3 of the Chief Inspector's report
about the dam breach recommended that the Mines Act should have
enhanced compliance and enforcement options, and the
