Unlike provinces such as B.C., Saskatchewan is covered by historic treaties and Treaty Land Entitlement agreements.
mining investment
The past year has seen a lot of Canadians paying attention to aboriginal land rights.
The mining industry contributes mightily to Canada’s economic prosperity, adding $54 billion to Canada’s GDP and employing roughly 383,000 Canadians at an average annual salary of more than $110,000 in 2013. But Canada has a serious problem with land-use certainty that may threaten future investment in the sector.
The pictures coming out of northern British Columbia where a mine-tailings pond in Mount Polley ruptured on August 4, 2014 are painful to see. The fact that the site is remote, and that only a small number of people are likely to be directly affected doesn’t mitigate the visceral pain one feels at seeing images of uprooted trees, and mud-clogged streams and rivers.