It takes an average of 17 years to get from mineral deposit discovery to actual mining.

That’s far too long. And that’s why jurisdictions across Canada and around the world are taking steps to expedite permitting while maintaining environmental protections.

Nova Scotia needs to catch up.

The Government of Nova Scotia to restructure the province’s permitting system for the mineral sector – specifically, by putting a beefed-up Geoscience and Mines Branch in charge of permitting. This would create a centre of excellence that has the geologists, mining engineers, environmental scientists and other experts needed to effectively and efficiently regulate mineral exploration and mining. This is how other provinces regulate their mining industries.

There is a growing global consensus that permitting for new mines needs to be reformed because it takes an average of 17 years to get from mineral deposit discovery to actual mining - too slow for climate plans.

The International Energy Agency argues for “a cut in permitting times to just one year.”

Regulatory permitting of new mines is a major bottle neck in the process and jurisdictions across Canada and around the world are taking steps to expedite permitting while maintaining environmental protections (facebook.com/MiningNS/post).

Nova Scotia has a negative reputation in the global mining industry as a place to invest, and our permitting system is a major reason.

In other provinces, a Department of Mines is responsible for permitting and it has the expertise needed to properly regulate the mineral sector. It is mostly a one-stop shop for permitting, which ensures that permitting is efficient and effective, that it adheres to reasonable timelines, and that it holds the industry to the highest standards.

In Nova Scotia, the Department of Natural Resources, through its Geoscience and Mines Branch, has responsibility for facilitating development of Nova Scotia’s mineral resources but little actual authority to fulfill this mandate. Most of the provincial government’s experts in minerals and mining are employees in the Geoscience and Mines Branch. Yet they have almost no authority, or even influence, over the permitting process for environmental and operational matters.

Other departments and branches control most permitting for the mineral sector. While they each have their own expertise, they regulate a range of industries and are not necessarily expert in any one of them.

The result is a system in which the majority of the Government’s exploration and mining experts are not involved in most permitting related to the minerals sector, while people who are not experts in exploration and mining are responsible for almost all permitting. This is the opposite of how the permitting system should be designed and at odds with how other provinces structure their systems.

Not having a single department in charge of permitting creates uncertainty and confusion for project proponents. It often does the same for government officials, who frequently work at cross purposes to each other and offer contradictory and ever- changing interpretations of permitting rules.

We are not asking that regulatory oversight, especially related to environmental matters, be made any less stringent. The modern mining industry fully supports protecting the environment and it operates in an environmentally-responsible fashion. Our concerns are with red tape, unclear requirements and lengthening timelines.

To help build a stronger province, we need clear, science-based, consistently-applied rules and regulations that protect the environment while also allowing us to create jobs for Nova Scotians.