Audit finds delays to approve dozens of B.C. mines were largely caused by market forces — not government permitting.

Stefan Labbé, Business in Vancouver

For several years, politicians and the mining industry have targeted Canadian regulations standing in the way of feeding a burgeoning critical minerals market.

In advertisements and on its website, the Mining Association of B.C. (MABC) says the country's westernmost province has a “generational opportunity” to supply the world with critical minerals needed for clean technologies. The long-term economic impact, claims the group, could reach $800 billion.

It’s a narrative that has been echoed by Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, and more recently picked up by B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad during the last B.C. election campaign. The only thing standing in the way, according to the MABC, is government red tape.

“It cannot take us 15 years to permit new mines in this country if we are going to achieve the targets that we've set for electric vehicles,” Wilkinson told Glacier Media in 2022.

A new audit released Wednesday claims to blow a hole in that story.

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