Mining News: Northern Neighbors: BC considers better instruments to enforce regulatory compliance

British Columbia Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett Feb. 25 introduced amendments to the Mines Act aimed at strengthening the provincial government’s regulatory oversight of the mining industry and giving the ministry additional compliance and enforcement tools. The proposed changes would enable government to include administrative monetary penalties as an additional compliance and enforcement tool under the province’s mines act. Currently, compliance and enforcement tools under the act are limited to shutting down a mine through the cancellation of a permit, issuance of a stop-work order, or pursuing prosecutions. Administrative monetary penalties can be imposed for contraventions without involving the courts. This type of penalty is already used by other ministries and has proven to be an efficient and effective compliance tool. “The legislative changes … provide my ministry with more tools for compliance and enforcement, strengthening British Columbia’s regulatory framework so we can build an even safer, more sustainable mining industry in this province,” Bennett said. Existing penalties available for court prosecutions under the act will also increase under the amendment. The maximum penalties will be raised from the current $100,000 and/or up to one year imprisonment to $1 million and/or up to three years imprisonment. The amendments introduced by Bennett are part of government’s ongoing actions to implement the 26 recommendations of an independent panel and the chief inspector of mines following their respective investigations into the Mount Polley tailings storage facility failure. British Columbia said work to implement a number of these recommendations is either substantially underway or complete, including improving corporate governance, improving professional engineering practices and strengthening current regulatory operations. “It is my goal that B.C.’s regulatory regime for health and safety on mine sites is the best in the world, and we will get there by implementing all of the recommendations of the independent expert panel and the chief inspector of mines,” Bennett said.

- Shane Lasley

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