Merci, Monsieur le President. Map Staking versus Claim Staking for Mineral Rights. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, who is responsible for both promoting the mining industry and regulating it.
During the development of the Mineral Rights Act, there was a commitment from the Government of the Northwest Territories to implement map staking as the method for acquiring mineral rights. The department has also committed to spend $3.7 million developing a mineral administration and registry system to facilitate map staking, a fundamental change to the way in which mineral rights are secured. This will likely require a careful balance between the economic interests of small prospectors, claim post manufacturers, expediters, charter aircraft operators versus mining companies with the capital to tie up large areas without significant work commitments.
How is the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment going to balance these competing interests, and,
Please provide a summary of the representation work requirements for mineral claims since devolution, including the number of active mineral claims, value of the representation work completed, number of claims lapsed due to a failure to perform representation work, and the value of that representation work that would have occurred;
Please explain how the value of the work that would normally go into claim staking will be dealt with under map staking to prevent speculation and/or be converted into actual exploration work;
Please provide any economic analysis of the impacts of moving from claim staking to map staking that has been conducted by or for the Department; and,
Please provide a full description of the public engagement that the department intends to undertake as part of any move from claim staking to map staking, including the steps, timelines and specific opportunities for public input.
Merci, Mr. Speaker.
