Quebecers want mining companies to contribute more to public funds so that they can extract resources from the ground and pollute, according to a Léger poll commissioned by the Coalition Québec Better Mine.
Six fiscal or economic measures were submitted to the judgment of 995 people forming a representative sample of the Quebec population, during a Web survey conducted between July 15 and 18. These are measures that, in the opinion of the members of the Coalition, can promote better environmental practices. These results constitute the second part of a survey unveiled on August 2 in our pages.
The idea of “applying the polluter-pays principle so that industry pays for all of its impacts on the environment and public health” is supported by 83% of respondents. Around 79% of respondents are also in favor of increasing “environmental pricing for the volumes of water used and the volumes of mining waste generated”.
“The industry generates a lot of mining waste and consumes a lot of water for its production. Currently, there is a fee that exists, but it is ridiculous and has no impact on the choices of companies,” says Ugo Lapointe, co-spokesperson for the Coalition.
According to a regulation from the Ministry of the Environment, mining companies must pay between $0.0223 and $0.0355 per tonne of mining processing residues deposited annually in an accumulation area. According to calculations by the Coalition Québec Meilleur Mine, a minimum of 97.9 million tonnes of mine tailings were generated in Québec in 2020, which would amount to $3.5 million paid by this industry, which had the same year a production of 11.6 billion dollars.
In comparison, landfills must pay royalties of $24.32 per tonne of residual materials received. In addition, mining companies benefit from a ceiling of one million dollars per establishment for the total rights relating to water, air and mining residues. As for the tariff on the use of water, it is about 30% lower than in Ontario.
“If the pricing were high enough, that would induce an incentive for companies to change their mode of operation, find ways to reduce the volume of mining waste and water,” says Mr. Lapointe. Some companies could not pay the bill, which would ensure that projects with a large environmental footprint would not go ahead, recognizes Mr. Lapointe.
More transparency
The survey also highlights a desire for transparency. These are 82% of respondents who want to be made public, “mine by mine, data on revenues, profits and taxes paid to governments”. To this end, the coordinator of the Échec aux paradis paradis collective, William Ross, believes that it is difficult to obtain information on the effective tax rate in the mining sector.
“We are able to know how much [les sociétés] paid to the government, but we do not know against what income it was done, ”explains Mr. Ross.
This data could notably allow the public, according to Mr. Ross, to judge whether this industry, which often benefits from government subsidies and partnerships, is paying its fair share. They could also give indications of tax evasion or tax avoidance.
If the pricing were high enough, it would induce an incentive for companies to change the way they operate, find ways to reduce the volume of mining waste and water
According to the philosopher Alain Deneault, the opinion of the Quebec population has practically never been taken into account with regard to the management of the mining sector. He also considers Quebec as a “mineral-State”, “ultra-permissive and opaque”.
“We have, with this survey, a beginning of reflection on what the people want. And what the people tell us is that we disavow the public policies that have been carried out for decades. We disavow the opacity, the polluting nature of this industry, its largely tax-free nature,” says the author of several books on the mining industry.
The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Quebec, Jonatan Julien, was not available to comment on the two parts of the Léger poll.