François Paradis, Hugo-Pierre Gagnon
Sept 2012
By Jennifer Brown, CanadianLawyer Magazine, Legal Report, Mining Law
(Extract)
When it was announced last May by Quebec Premier Jean Charest, Plan Nord – the plan to develop the natural resources extraction sector in the part of the Quebec north of the 49th parallel – was exciting news for both the mining industry in Canada and foreign investors. The plan, to be carried out over 25 years, would foster over $80 billion in energy, mining, and forestry investments and translate into tens of thousands of jobs.
Plan Nord would have a massive impact on the province’s environment, economy, and society as a whole, and so the government brought forward several pieces of legislation to amend Quebec’s Mining Act. A year later the changes have yet to be implemented and it has left some wondering when the project will finally get the green light to move forward. With a September election in Quebec, further delays seem probable. “At this point people are in a wait-and-see-mode,” says François Paradis, a partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Montreal. “We’re not going to see definitive legislation until a significant amount of time post-election and there is still open debate going on, but it will be stalled as election time comes along.”
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Bill 14 is key to the successful development of Plan Nord, says Hugo-Pierre Gagnon, an associate with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Montreal, to provide clarity to the mining companies. “Bill 14 is important for Plan Nord because what investors in mining companies need is a clear, stable, and predictable regulatory framework in which they can operate. They need to know the rules,” says Gagnon. “It’s not that the rule book has to be re-written, but let’s say it was due for a significant overhaul.”
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For the full article by Jennifer Brown, click here.