Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines for Ontario, and Bronwyn Eyre, Minister of Energy and Resources for Saskatchewan, released the following statement today regarding Bill C-69, legislation that threatens resource jobs across Canada:
"The governments of Ontario and Saskatchewan held a roundtable discussion with industry leaders at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual meeting to discuss proposed federal regulatory burdens through Bill C-69 that are threatening mining and mineral jobs in both provinces.
New resource development relies heavily on regulatory certainty, as uncertainty and delays disrupt the mining cycle, hurt investments, jobs and future opportunities. That's why Ontario and Saskatchewan are taking a firm stance against misguided policies imposed by Bill C-69 that will harm miners, communities and businesses.
Bill C-69 will potentially politicize the environmental approval process for major resource projects, giving the federal cabinet unprecedented power to halt resource development projects that create jobs and economic opportunity. The Bill also imposes new, subjective values tests on projects, adding delays and additional hurdles that will delay projects and kill jobs.
Our governments recognize the importance of protecting the environment, but we must do so in a way that supports competitiveness, job creation and economic development.
We continue to fight to protect natural resource industries from the federal government's job-killing carbon tax, while cutting red tape and regulatory hurdles that kill investments in new projects and the jobs that go along with it.
Our provinces will continue to send a clear message to the world that Ontario and Saskatchewan are Open for Business."