Continuing with the…

Continuing with the commentary that the CCFMS concerns are included in this ERO 019-6692 submission.

Please note that Central Canadian Federation of Mineralogical Societies (CCFMS) is identified below.
The CCFMS is a public entity in Ontario; therefore, does NOT expect "personal" privacy.
The CCFMS is not ashamed to publicly acknowledge our commentary as well as our involvement.

This is comment ONE of 11 comments that the CCFMS feels are critical to the Ontario Hobby Mineral Collecting Guide

General Comment
• A revision to the policy in the original 1990s Mineral Collecting in Ontario booklet was begun due to a change made in 2009 as part of “modernizing” the Mining Act.
• As part of the “modernization” process, all mining rights where the surface rights were privately held in Southern Ontario, including the Bancroft and Haliburton areas where hobby mineral collecting is a significant contributor to the local economies, were withdrawn from staking under Section 35.1 of the Mining Act.
• This withdrawal had the unintended impact of meaning that hobby mineral collectors could not collect anywhere in Southern Ontario where the surface rights were privately held and the mining rights were held by the Crown – even if the surface rights holder gave collectors their permission to collect on their properties.

• The whole purpose of redoing the guide was to enable mineral collecting on privately owned surface rights affected by this withdrawal if the owners of the surface rights gave their permission. This was consistent with the policy in the original 1990s Mineral Collecting in Ontario booklet.
• The CCFMS recommends as strongly as possible that the critical section in the 2014 draft reviewed by the CCFMS that addressed this, and enabled hobby mineral collecting to go on in these areas be reinstated.
• It reads “However, in the case of mining rights withdrawn under section 35.1, and consistent with the intent and nature of the withdrawals and the purpose of this Policy, the Ministry will exercise enforcement discretion with hobby mineral collectors who are carrying out their activities as described in this Policy on lands withdrawn pursuant to section 35.1.”

• The CCFMS addresses this again in its comment SEVEN under the heading “Page 5, Where hobby mineral collecting can not be done.”