Modernizing BC's Free Entry Mining Laws for a Vibrant, Sustainable Mining Sector

Résumé du livre

The early economic and political development of BC was closely intertwined with mining activity. Key aspects of BC's laws governing mining date back over 150 years to the gold rush era of the 1850s and early 1860s. As thousands of prospectors made their way to the west, early colonial legislation gave them a right of "free entry" to most lands in the colony, and established a system for them to acquire mineral rights by "staking a claim". Over 150 years later, the presence of mineral claims, new or historical, still gives mining activity priority over virtually all other land uses in BC. BC's economy has changed, but our laws have not kept pace. While mining has played a key role in BC's economy over the decades, it certainly no longer holds the dominant role it did in the 19th century.