The Paths To Profits Cross Many Waters
I’m sure I’ll have a lawyer or two correct me on this but it’s my understanding that the law has for a long time considered water a ‘dangerous’ issue to deal with but at the same time, has also treated it as a ‘valuable’ resource that deserves the utmost attention when it comes to ‘rights of usage.’
I also understand that almost every legal system recognizes that flowing water cannot be owned, but that a right to use that water is a valuable property right.
The common law allows the owner of property beside a river or lake to use the water in front of or on top of this land. This is “The right of riparian user.”
When written, however, this was fine for agricultural purposes or small domestic use or for cottagers like me, but what about today on a far larger and more political scale where water and who has the right to use it is the subject of many increasingly heated discussions, especially where miners and agreements with their neighbours are concerned?
Today’s friction between industrial consumers of water, which again includes mining companies in a big way, and those who believe they actually own it because it flows through their ancestral property, has reached the point of being somewhat of a threat to our nation’s industrial future, particularly where mining is concerned.
That may be a little extreme, but never in the history of mining have there been so many rules and regulations, and permits required, before a shovel even hits the ground. It’s no wonder that so many mining companies, especially the juniors, are having such a hard time getting financial support for proposed projects that are being held up by a slew of outstanding issues involving permits for everything from dust control to moose droppings.
The latter is an exaggeration, but not too far from the truth. Approvals are getting out of hand and already some companies are fed up with the number that are required in Canada just to do their work and they’re physically pulling up stakes and moving elsewhere.
It’s not as if the developers of mining projects are trying to slip something past anyone; they’re just trying to get on with business, so why are things being made so hard for them to do so?
A mining project, albeit somewhat more defacing to Mother Nature than say, building a park or community swimming pool, is not a threat to the country and by and large, most mining companies today are going out of their way to be good neighbours, especially when it comes to sensitive issues involving the use of the neighbourhood’s water.
Contrary to what some headlines have said about mines being major contributors to the pollution of our air and waterways, quite the opposite is true. In fact, many mining companies across Canada are making huge investments into monitoring and controlling their immediate sites so as to help ensure that their neighbours’ environment is safe too.
It’s just too bad that some others still think that miners are the bad guys intent on disrupting everything that comes in their way. It’s true the ‘paths to profits’ cross many waters but not at the risk of destroying them for future generations.
Regardless of what some people may think, the mining industry in Canada will not ‘permit’ it!
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