Traditional territory of the Wabanaki Peoples/Fredericton – The province’s new Comprehensive Minerals Strategy talks a lot about attracting mining companies, but fails to clearly explain how it will protect the people and communities who will live with the consequences of the damage mining projects can cause.
The strategy highlights the province’s mineral potential and emphasizes streamlining regulatory processes and attracting new investment in the mining sector. However, the document does little to address the environmental, economic, health and community risks associated with large-scale mining.
“The strategy is a sales pitch to mining companies,” said Beverly Gingras, executive director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick. “What it fails to do is answer the questions that matter most to the people who live here.”
Gingras says that if the province expects public support for expanding mining, it must treat New Brunswickers as investors as well.
“New Brunswickers invest their money through public infrastructure and environmental cleanup, she said. “They invest their livelihoods in local economies that depend on healthy land and water. They invest in their environment, their health and their communities. Any credible mining strategy should show how those investments will be protected.”
The strategy repeatedly talks about environmental stewardship but provides few details on how environmental protections will be strengthened as mining activity expands. Environmental protection is also not identified as a strategic priority within the plan.
This is particularly concerning given the long-term environmental risks associated with large-scale hard rock mining, including potential water contamination, challenges with tailings pond management and the need for long-term monitoring and water treatment after mines close.
Mining projects can also affect nearby communities through dust, increased traffic, potential exposure to contaminants and noise. They can also place pressure on housing, infrastructure and local services in smaller communities.
“Communities deserve to know how these risks will be prevented and managed,” said Gingras. “Those answers are largely missing from this strategy.”
Mining is also a boom-and-bust industry. New Brunswick has already experienced the economic consequences of mines opening and closing as global commodity prices fluctuate.
“These projects can bring economic activity, but they can also leave communities facing sudden job losses and long-term environmental liabilities when markets change,” Gingras said.
New Brunswick already carries millions of dollars in environmental liabilities from abandoned mines, which the strategy acknowledges. While it proposes reviewing financial assurances meant to ensure companies pay for cleanup from these projects, it does not commit to strengthening those requirements if they are insufficient.
“New Brunswickers deserve a minerals strategy that does more than entice investment,” Gingras said. “It should clearly explain how the environment, the economy, public health and the well-being of local communities will be protected and ensure people have a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect them.”
For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Kyle Reid, Senior Communications Coordinator, Conservation Council of New Brunswick | kyle.reid@conservationcouncil.ca | 506-458-8747
Beverly Gingras, Executive Director, Conservation Council of New Brunswick | beverly.gingras@conservationcouncil.ca | 506-458-8747