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A proposal to endorse a resolution from Tay Valley Township regarding mineral rights was deferred at the regular South Frontenac Council meeting last week in Sydenham.
Tay Valley has circulated a resolution asking the Minister of Northern Development and Mines to re-visit a long-standing statute (reinforced with the Mining Act, 1990) that allows licensed prospectors a statutory right to stake mining claims and conduct assessment work on otherwise private lands where the Crown holds the sub-surface mineral rights even though a landowner holds surface rights.
Lanark County has passed a similar resolution asking the Minister to reunify SRO property and mining rights and the proposal has received support from the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).
Coun. Ron Vandewal proposed the deferment, with support from Coun. John Fillion, because he said the way it was brought to Council wasn’t within regular procedures.
“I’m not saying I’m against supporting the resolution,” Vandewal said. “I just don’t like how it got here.”
In a report to Council, CAO/Clerk Gord Burns (who was on vacation and not at the meeting last week) said: “Given that the AMO Conference is coming up in August and there is a provincial election this fall, I thought if Council wished to support this resolution, we should do so at the Aug. 7 meeting as we will not have a further Council meeting until September.”
Dep. Mayor Del Stowe, chairing the meeting in the absence of Mayor Gary Davison, agreed that the inclusion of the endorsement request on the agenda “was different” and allowed Vandewal to move the deferral.
However, Coun. Dave Hahn argued strenuously that the matter should be dealt with immediately.
“I’m not sure other Districts have the same problem,” Hahn said. “But in Bedford, there was a lot of mining in the past and in many cases, the surface rights don’t match the mineral rights.
“Prospectors can come in whenever they want and do essentially whatever they want and there’s nothing a property owner can do about it.
“A lot of people think surface rights and underlying mineral rights should be unified and they want answers.”