N.S. shakes up requirements for metal mines in bid to speed up approvals

Taryn Grant · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 2:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 13

Nova Scotia Environment Minister Tim Halman says he's acting connected years of requests from the mining manufacture to alteration the regulatory requirements for immoderate large projects.

The changes are the latest determination successful the Houston government's program to ramp up assets development.

"We are embracing the information that beardown biology protection, economical accidental and regulatory clarity are not competing priorities. They indispensable enactment together, and successful Nova Scotia they will," Halman said astatine a quality league Friday.

Halman's section is removing 15 requirements from the exertion for concern approvals, which a task needs earlier it tin commencement operating.

The changes use lone to metallic mining projects, portion each different large projects volition inactive person to conscionable the pre-existing requirements for concern applications.

15 requirements pushed down the road

The 15 requirements that were dropped see sound and aerial emissions monitoring plans, the submission of reclamation securities and signed authorization from landowners, among different items.

The requirements are not being wholly discarded but are being pushed further down the road. The requirements volition be conditions of concern approval, with deadlines coming astatine assorted stages of operation and cognition of the mine.

Officials from Halman's section called it a "phased" attack and said it volition assistance velocity things up.

"When a institution receives concern approval, it whitethorn beryllium galore months oregon years earlier they statesman construction," said Janet MacKinnon, enforcement manager of sustainability and applied science.

"So we wouldn't needfully request that accusation until they were acceptable astatine that signifier of their task to commencement gathering oregon commencement constructing oregon commencement operating."

'Quicker is better'

Metal mining projects person to acquisition a Class I biology assessment, which takes 50 days, earlier moving on to concern approval, which takes 60 days. Those timelines are acceptable successful legislation.

The play successful betwixt receipt of biology support and the submission of an exertion for concern support is highly variable, said Paul Keats, and that's the country the state is aiming to address.

Keats, manager of the determination integration, compliance and operations portion astatine the Environment Department, said the months oregon years that tin spell by successful betwixt the 2 stages is dictated in part by the applicant's quality to conscionable each the requirements for concern applications.

He said a radical of 10 unit has been assigned to enactment exclusively connected concern approvals for metallic mining projects.

"We are going to beryllium present to assistance clients recognize the requirements and assistance them get done a palmy support quicker," helium said.

He couldn't accidental precisely however overmuch clip helium expects the caller process to shave off.

"Quicker is better," said Keats.

MacKinnon said Mi'kmaw leaders were "made aware" of the changes to the concern support process and volition proceed to beryllium consulted connected a project-by-project basis.