Quebec says no to a moratorium on mining claims
To Namur, in the Outaouais, resistance to mining activity has its sympathizers. (File photo)
It would be “dangerous” to impose a moratorium on mining claims, according to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, Maïté Blanchette Vézina.
It would send the wrong message to the international community, which expects Quebec to participate in the decarbonization of the economy, she said Friday during an interpellation at the Blue Room.
Québec solidaire (QS) spokesperson for natural resources, Alejandra Zaga Mendez, had just pointed out that the number of mining claims in Québec exploded between January 2021 and June 2022.
It increased by 408% in Lanaudière, 211% in Outaouais and 71% in the Laurentians region, said the MP. Claims allow a company to have the exclusive right to explore the ground.
The vast majority of claims do not reach the stage of mining, replied the minister. We can hardly speak of a mining boom, she said.
It is also important, according to Ms. Blanchette Vézina, to continue to excavate the ground, to #x27;go and lift the grass, looking for traces of interesting minerals.
It would be dangerous to impose a moratorium, because it would send a message that Quebec is slowing down the decarbonization of economy, no longer wants to be part of governments that want to push decarbonization forward, she said.
