PDAC response to Strengthening One Canadian Economy through Trade and Transportation

The mineral industry and infrastructure are closely tied, though only 24% of land available for claim staking in Canada is within 10 km of an existing road. Unlike many other industries, mineral explorers and miners have very little choice in determining where they can operate; exploration and development projects exist where economic mineral resources are discovered. 

PDAC recommends: ensuring that mineral supply chains are explicitly represented in corridor designations; that mineral industry representatives are included on the proposed trade corridors advisory group; that the “Tell us once” system is designed to accommodate technical and environmental data and is not limited to commercial or administrative information; that infrastructure and transportation needs are distinguished from project impact assessments; that approvals for low-impact remote access infrastructure are streamlined; and, that specific attention is paid to the service reliability and access terms available to mineral producers.