Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My name is Gordon Peeling and I am the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mining Association of Canada.
With me is Pierre Gratton, the vice-president of sustainable development.
It's our pleasure to be here to talk about Bill C-30, the specific claims tribunal act. The Mining Association of Canada supports Bill C-30 and the accompanying political agreement between the Government of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations.
I would like to commend the government and the Assembly of First Nations for the development of the bill and the political agreement. We encourage the government to bolster this kind of approach with first nations in the spirit of garnering further constructive dialogue and tangible results.
The mining industry offers major opportunities for first nations peoples. We are making a significant contribution to aboriginal employment, business development, and growing education and skills levels, creating opportunities for all aboriginal peoples, but there is much more our sector can do with the right public policy framework.
Bill C-30 and the political agreement represent a positive step forward, but the federal government must complement this initiative with an effective implementation plan and progress in other areas.
With respect to our industry and first nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, here are some of the facts.
Mining is the largest industrial employer of aboriginal peoples. We double the national average. And while some mines have aboriginal workforces that are 30% to 40% aboriginal, some are even higher than that. And these are good-paying jobs. The average income of aboriginal people in mining is twice the national aboriginal average. Aboriginal business procurement is also high. In just five years, for example, Diavik Diamond Mines purchased over $1 billion in goods and services from aboriginal-owned businesses. Cameco and Syncrude have also achieved this billion-dollar milestone, albeit in a longer timeframe.
This is what is happening, but let us also look at the future. There are 1,200 aboriginal communities that are located within 200 kilometres of producing mines and 2,100 exploration properties across Canada. For our industry, facing a major human resource shortage, and in a period of tremendous growth, first nations are critical to our future. First nations youth represent the fastest-growing population in Canada. By working to enhance access to training and education, the mining industry can complement federal investments in these areas. We can also be a critical partner in the economic and social development of first nations communities, but many hurdles remain.
Mining and exploration increasingly takes place on traditional aboriginal lands. In many parts of Canada land claims remain unsettled. In these circumstances it is much more difficult for industry to negotiate agreements with aboriginal communities, to navigate the regulatory process, and to advance new projects.
At times these underlying conditions undermine our ability to come to agreements, to partner and to develop together. Not surprisingly, for many first nations, respect and recognition of their rights and secure tenure are preconditions for their support for and interest in natural resource development on their traditional lands. We need only look at the pipeline negotiations and some recent controversies between first nations communities and exploration projects to see what can happen when rights are not recognized and land claims are not settled.
No one--not first nations, not industry, and not governments--benefits from the conflicts such as we have seen. What is in the collective interests of the first nations in the minerals industry are the kinds of industry-aboriginal collaboration and agreements we see involving mine development, such as Diavik in the Northwest Territories, Voisey's Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador, with the oil sands miners in Alberta, Cameco in Saskatchewan, at the Victor and Musselwhite mines in Ontario, and at many other operations across Canada. These outcomes are achieved through dialogue and respect, not through the courts and not through conflict, as was unfortunately the case recently in a dispute between the KI First Nation and mineral explorer Platinex.
We encourage the government to acknowledge the rights and interests that first nations have and to move forward on this basis, and Bill C-30 is a huge step in that direction, which will in actual fact improve the process. We can no longer delay. We need action on land claims and we need it now.
The Specific Claims Tribunal Act is a good step for resolving specific claims. It holds the promise of accelerating the resolution of specific claims, and with adequate investments and the timely and effective implementation of the political agreement, real progress can be made. But don't think this means the job is done. Comprehensive land claims not addressed by this bill can take and are taking decades to settle. In areas of high mineral interest, such as the Northwest Territories, the settlement of comprehensive land claims is urgent. Major claims such as the Dehcho and Akaticho require resolution.
Let me also touch on a related issue, the crown's duty to consult. While our industry recognizes that it is good practice to consult and accommodate aboriginal communities, industry actions are not a proxy for the crown. Exploration and mining projects have been held up or jeopardized because the crown has been found to not have fulfilled its consultation duties.
Supreme Court of Canada decisions have been clear about the crown's role in consulting with aboriginal peoples where rights may be infringed. We need government to do their duty, to clarify and implement its consultation obligations, and thus provide industry and first nations with certainty with respect to resource development.
We at the Mining Association of Canada recognize that we must also do our part. Our board has adopted a draft policy that lays out the industry's commitments toward aboriginal peoples through our award-winning TSM initiative, or towards sustainable mining initiative. We are currently consulting on this policy with first nations, Inuit, and Métis communities and organizations across this country.
We have been aided in our work by a national advisory panel that includes representatives from the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit organizations and Métis organizations, organized labour, the Canadian Environmental Network, mining municipalities, and the financial sector. A primary focus of the panel's work over the past few years has been on aboriginal relations.
As well, as many of you who participated in last year's Mining Day on the Hill would know, MAC signed a letter of intent with the Assembly of First Nations to enter into a partnership to address issues of mutual concern. The letter of intent will lead to a memorandum of understanding between the two organizations, and will contribute to increased first nations participation in Canada's mining industry. We have both targeted June of this year to finalize those discussions on the memorandum of understanding.
The letter of intent was initiated in part to respond to the AFN's corporate challenge program, which creates partnerships with corporate Canada to increase investments, procurement, and employment opportunities for first nations, and with the MOU will serve to strengthen MAC's towards sustainable mining initiative.
This new partnership would have been inconceivable for both our organizations a decade ago. It shows how times have changed and how we are changing. We need governments to change with us.
In conclusion, I want to reaffirm our support for Bill C-30 and the political agreement. The establishment of a specific claims tribunal through Bill C-30 and a commitment by the government to address the items outlined in the accompanying political agreement are, in our view, a step in the right direction--an absolutely essential step. They represent an important precedent for future legislative and policy initiatives. We urge its speedy passage without our losing sight of the many other important issues that I have raised with you today, some of which can come through the political agreement.
Thank you very much. Merci.