Organizations denounce “hasty” consultations on mining development by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests.
The Quebec Better Mine Coalition (QMM), which brings together more than forty citizen committees and organizations, believes that the consultations underway since April 14 and ending on May 19 have not allowed all people who wished to express themselves to do so fully.
This government approach aims to “guide government actions over the next few years to promote the harmonious development” of this sector of activity. It takes place in the context where many citizens, organizations and municipalities are concerned about the increase in the number of exploration titles granted and mining projects on their territories. They are demanding more power over the mining companies.
According to QMM Coalition spokesperson, Rodrigue Turgeon, the deadlines for registering and submitting a brief were too short. Details of the activities had been announced on April 6. The registration period for the general public workshops, offered only virtually, ended on 1er may.
In addition, several duly registered individuals were refused access to the workshops, possibly because they were too full.
“We would have liked a decent consultative exercise. We wanted the government to meet people and that is not what happened,” said Mr. Turgeon.
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The ministry announced that additional workshops would be added in the next two weeks to allow all registered citizens to express themselves. The persons concerned must be contacted “to communicate to them the details surrounding their participation”. Mr. Turgeon, however, says that citizens have still not heard from them.
The spokesperson for the QMM Coalition also recalled that media access to these public consultations had initially been refused. Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina had changed course following a motion adopted unanimously asking to reconsider this decision.
The QMM Coalition submitted its own brief on Thursday, which includes some sixty proposals, the first of which is to “make the entire mining regime consistent with the constitutional, international and inherent rights of the eleven Aboriginal nations that occupy Quebec”.