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 SEVEN of 11 comments that the CCFMS feels are critical to the Ontario Hobby Mineral Collecting Guide:

Page 5, Where hobby mineral collecting cannot be done
• The second bullet at the top of the page indicates that hobby mineral collecting cannot be done “when lands have been withdrawn from prospecting, mining claim registration, sale or lease under the Act.”

• The whole purpose of redoing the policy in the original Mineral Collecting in Ontario booklet was to introduce a provision that would resolve the unintended consequences of Mining Act modernization when the mining rights of properties in Southern Ontario where the surface rights were privately held were withdrawn from staking – thereby, making them off limits to hobby mineral collecting.

• The 2014 version of the Mineral collecting policy reviewed by the CCFMS included the following critical statement. “However, in the case of mining rights withdrawn under section 35.1, and consistent with the intent and nature of the withdrawals and the purpose of this Policy, the Ministry will exercise enforcement discretion with hobby mineral collectors who are carrying out their activities as described in this Policy on lands withdrawn pursuant to section 35.1.”

• This provision is missing from the version of the draft Mineral Collecting Guide posted on the Environmental Registry.

• The CCFMS maintains that the missing provision is an essential part of Ontario’s direction to hobby mineral collectors, and asks in the strongest possible terms that it be included in the final version of the Hobby Mineral Collecting Guide.