Mining companies should be…

Mining companies should be required to present full and costed closure plans before they start work.

I suggest you ask the Ministry of Northern Development (now Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry) on how many old mine sites their are in Ontario. Then ask how many of those require cleanup.

Closure plans aren't too much to ask either. Mine companies are fine to operate that way now; in fact most of the big ones are KEENLY AWARE of closure risks on their balance sheets. Will dropping the requirement make a difference for the respectable companies we want to partner with, or just attract the companies that we don't want?

Ontarians are forced to pay millions to clean up from profits that were mined a generation ago; should we burden the next generation the same way?