Protecting Ontario’s Critical Minerals and Energy Sector
New legislation will safeguard Canadian mining resources and energy infrastructure from foreign interference
As part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario, the province is introducing new measures to prevent foreign governments or corporations from claiming Ontario’s critical minerals or participating in the province’s energy sector. Today, Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines, along with Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan announced details from the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act. The proposed legislation will safeguard Ontario’s critical mining resources and energy infrastructure from hostile foreign actors and regimes, creating conditions that will attract investment and make Ontario’s and Canada’s economy more resilient and self-reliant.
“Canadian resources ought to benefit Canadians, not hostile, foreign regimes,” said Minister Lecce. “In today’s changing world, we need to be clear-eyed about the risks from those who want to exploit our resource bounty. That is why it is essential that Ontario is protecting our critical minerals and energy sector from getting into the wrong hands. Our government is taking action to secure our supply chains, from exploration to extraction, to ensure Canadian interests, jobs, and sovereignty always prevail.”
Currently, there are no safeguards in place to prevent adversarial foreign governments or corporations or bad actors from claiming critical minerals or participating in the energy sector in Ontario. This means that foreign entities can stake claim to mineral-rich deposits without the intention of harvesting them for the benefit of Ontarians or Canadians.
“Ontario is taking important actions to protect our mining and energy assets during this volatile time,” said MPP Kevin Holland. “This is especially important for Northern Ontario, as critical mineral and mining resources are an integral part of our economy. This legislation will ensure they remain a commodity that supports our workforce and livelihood.”
The Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act seeks to preserve and prioritize access to the province’s critical minerals and energy sector by creating new measures that will allow the government to suspend or remove a registrant from the Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS) or suspend the MLAS system itself. It would also give the government the ability to deny the transfer or lease of a mining claim, or when necessary, revoke a mining claim registration or terminate a lease.
New measures will also be taken to protect Ontario’s essential energy usage by foreign state-owned or based companies by limiting the participation of specified foreign jurisdictions or entities in Ontario’s energy sector. This aims to protect our energy systems from risks including malware, manipulation, tampering, surveillance, potential ratepayer harm, and other threats posed by foreign state-owned or based companies seeking to compromise essential services.
