Latest news with #EnergyandMines
The Sun
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Peru government under fire for halving reserve around Nazca lines
LIMA: Peru's government on Tuesday defended its decision to nearly halve the size of the protected area where the fabled Nazca lines were discovered, arguing that it would help put a stop to illegal mining in the area. The series of massive etchings on the floor of the Nazca desert, which depict animals, plants, imaginary beings and geometric figures, have fascinated scientists ever since they were first discovered around a century ago. Best viewed from the air, the 2,000-year-old Nazca lines situated some 220 miles (350 kilometers) south of Lima, are one of Peru's top tourist attractions. Archaeologists have reacted with outrage to the government's decision to decrease the size of the reserve from 5,633 square kilometers (2,175 square miles) to to 3,235 square kilometers (1,250 square miles). Defending the move in a meeting with the foreign press, Minister of Energy and Mines Jorge Montero said the area excluded from the reserve contained 'no archaeological or other kind of heritage.' The authorities argue that the rezoning will strike a blow to illegal miners operating in the area, who will have to apply for permits to operate in areas that now fall outside the reserve. Illegal mining has been partly blamed for a wave of gang violence in Peru, one of Latin America's biggest gold producers. Archaeologists however poured scorn on the government's explanations, saying the rezoning could hamper new discoveries in the area. 'It's completely absurd,' Pieter Van Dalen, head of the College of Architects of Peru, told AFP. 'How could he (the mining minister) know, without being an expert, whether there are (other) remains,' Van Dalen said, adding the the redrawing of the reserve's boundaries 'not only affects the lines but a series of settlements throughout the area.' In September, Japanese scientists used artificial intelligence to uncover 303 new etchings in the Nazca desert -- doubling the amount of the known geoglyphs created some 2,000 years ago by a pre-Inca civilization.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Peru Halves Nazca Lines Reserve Amid Mining Concerns
LIMA: Peru's government on Tuesday defended its decision to nearly halve the size of the protected area where the fabled Nazca lines were discovered, arguing that it would help put a stop to illegal mining in the area. The series of massive etchings on the floor of the Nazca desert, which depict animals, plants, imaginary beings and geometric figures, have fascinated scientists ever since they were first discovered around a century ago. Best viewed from the air, the 2,000-year-old Nazca lines situated some 220 miles (350 kilometers) south of Lima, are one of Peru's top tourist attractions. Archaeologists have reacted with outrage to the government's decision to decrease the size of the reserve from 5,633 square kilometers (2,175 square miles) to to 3,235 square kilometers (1,250 square miles). Defending the move in a meeting with the foreign press, Minister of Energy and Mines Jorge Montero said the area excluded from the reserve contained 'no archaeological or other kind of heritage.' The authorities argue that the rezoning will strike a blow to illegal miners operating in the area, who will have to apply for permits to operate in areas that now fall outside the reserve. Illegal mining has been partly blamed for a wave of gang violence in Peru, one of Latin America's biggest gold producers. Archaeologists however poured scorn on the government's explanations, saying the rezoning could hamper new discoveries in the area. 'It's completely absurd,' Pieter Van Dalen, head of the College of Architects of Peru, told AFP. 'How could he (the mining minister) know, without being an expert, whether there are (other) remains,' Van Dalen said, adding the the redrawing of the reserve's boundaries 'not only affects the lines but a series of settlements throughout the area.' In September, Japanese scientists used artificial intelligence to uncover 303 new etchings in the Nazca desert -- doubling the amount of the known geoglyphs created some 2,000 years ago by a pre-Inca civilization.
Global News
7 days ago
- Business
- Global News
Ontario introducing legislation to connect data centres to energy more easily
Ontario is introducing legislation that will allow the agency that manages the province's energy grid to prioritize projects — including data centres — that meet economic growth criteria, among other changes. On Tuesday, Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce unveiled new legislation he said would support the growth of the province's energy sector. The proposed Protect Ontario by Securing Affordable Energy for Generations Act includes clauses to allow the Independent Electricity System Operator to prioritize certain projects for connection to the grid, lean into made-in-Canada energy technology for security and increase the emphasis on hydrogen. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'As global competition intensifies, energy demand surges, and affordability becomes more important than ever, Ontario isn't standing still — we're stepping up,' Lecce said in a statement. The government is particularly pointing to the emergence of data centres — large computing buildings that store cloud information and manage artificial intelligence operations — as a reason for the tweak. Story continues below advertisement Currently, all projects are connected to the grid with equal importance, according to the government. The tweak would allow the IESO to prioritize projects of economic importance, like data centres. The government's calculations show 6,500 megawatts of power is currently needed for data centres. The figure is equivalent to 30 per cent of peak demand for the province. 'That's a ton of power,' Lecce said. 'That's three Pickerings, that's almost two Darlingtons of power just for data centres.' The proposed legislation would remove the non-discriminatory clause that governs Ontario's grid. The law is not expected to pass until after the legislature returns in the fall.
Global News
03-06-2025
- Business
- Global News
To access Ring of Fire, Ontario needs to build a road. Internal docs say it's years away
A major portion of the road to the Ring of Fire won't be ready to begin technical permitting and construction until at least 2028, internal government documents concede, in a potentially major delay for the province's high-priority plan. A road to the mineral-rich Ring of Fire in northern Ontario is at the centre of the Ford government's economic strategy, relying on mining contracts to create jobs and prosperity in the face of tariffs from the United States. It is also a key reason cited for the province's controversial Bill 5, which is likely to become law by the end of the week, despite protests and the threat of blockades from First Nations leaders. The minerals Ontario wants to access in the Ring of Fire, which include copper, platinum, palladium and nickel, are buried in an area more than 300 km north of the province's existing highway network. Story continues below advertisement In order to access them, the government will need to construct a massive series of new roads. Documents obtained by Global News using freedom of information laws show the government is currently a long way from achieving that. A briefing binder written by civil servants for Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce this year lays out the plan to build a three-part road network to the Ring of Fire. The plan involves the Webequie Supply Road, the Northern Road Link and the Marten FAlls Community Access Road. The documents show the 126-km northern link portion of the route won't finish its studies and assessments until the beginning of 2028, 'at the earliest.' Once the assessments are approved, technical permitting would then need to take place, followed by construction. View image in full screen A slide presented to Minister Stephen Lecce outlining the timelines for a road to the Ring of Fire. Global News The Ford government has said it is frustrated with the current timeline to open mines and complete major projects, the justification it has offered for tabling Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act. Story continues below advertisement That legislation allows for the creation of so-called Special Economic Zones, where cabinet would be allowed to exempt projects from a variety of environmental and potentially labour laws. Those zones, the government argued, are necessary to speed up projects. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy In order to get closer to creating those areas, and in turn to speed up projects, the government said it is bypassing some debate and fast-tracking the proposed legislation. Ontario NDP MPP Jamie West said the fact that a road to the Ring of Fire can't currently begin construction for roughly three years suggests the mineral-rich area is not the reason for the law. 'Although Premier Ford continues to use the Ring of Fire as the main purpose for Bill 5, it's not a valid excuse for rushing it through the legislature,' Ontario NDP MPP Jamie West said in a statement. 'The Conservative government's own documents state that the Northern Link Road for the Ring of Fire can't begin construction until 2028.' The government did not address whether it would consider designating the road to the Ring of Fire as a special economic zone to allow it to bypass parts of the assessment process and begin construction earlier. While the province has said the Ring of Fire itself will eventually be designated, ministers have been keen to stress that decision won't be rushed. Story continues below advertisement Last week, Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation of Ontario Greg Rickford said it was too early to discuss what would be designated as a special economic zone. 'We're not talking about the designation of an economic zone at this point,' he told reporters on May 28. 'I don't think it adds anything right now to speculate on anything.' Lecce, whose briefing binder contains the warning that the road is years away from beginning construction, said the powers wouldn't be used until consultation was complete. 'We're also committing to not utilizing the authority of the special economic zones, for example, in the Ring of Fire until we've consulted; that's an important process that's been raised from the communities,' Lecce said, also on May 28, speaking alongside Rickford. 'The regulatory process allows us to literally assess the nature of how we develop legislation, get out there, launch a public transparency opportunity for feedback and for governments to take those perspectives.' The internal government documents show just how long the process of developing a road to the Ring of Fire has been. Work on the three-part road began in 2018, with final submission of the environmental assessments for one part in 2026 and the other in 2028. The government did not answer questions about the timeline or whether Bill 5 could be used to speed up — or entirely bypass — the assessment process for the road. Story continues below advertisement Last Friday, Ford suggested the Ring of Fire, along with Highway 401 and nuclear power generation stations, could be designated. West and the NDP contend the three-year lead time for construction of a road — which must be done before minerals can be extracted from the area at any scale — shows Bill 5 has not been introduced to access the area. 'Bill 5 isn't about getting shovels in the ground. It's not about supporting mining or economic growth in the North,' West said. 'If it was, we'd see real consultation with Indigenous communities and local workers, not more behind-closed-doors decisions. This Bill is all about sweeping powers to sidestep protections and silence opposition. It has nothing to do with building up the North and everything to do with helping Ford's friends get their way.'
National Observer
02-06-2025
- Politics
- National Observer
First Nations protest at Queen's Park against Ford's mining bill
Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government is pushing through a controversial mining bill despite the protests of several hundred First Nations members who came from the far north to the front lawn of Queen's Park on Monday. "Kill Bill 5, kill Bill 5," the crowd chanted. The province moved to shut down debate on a mining law known as Bill 5 that would give the government power to suspend provincial and municipal laws for chosen projects in areas deemed to have economic importance – and remove some endangered species protections. The proposed legislation has sparked an angry backlash from First Nations who say the bill tramples their rights and ignores their concerns. They've asked the province to scrap the bill and to draft legislation alongside First Nations as partners. "Our rights are not for sale," said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse at the rally. The government is speeding up the passage of a plethora of bills before the legislature rises later this week for a summer break. Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, is designed to speed up the building of large projects, especially mines. Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government is pushing through a controversial mining bill despite the protests of several hundred First Nations members who came from the far north to the front lawn of Queen's Park on Monday. The province will not kill the bill, said Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford. "We're looking forward to passing the bill later this week and getting out and performing our duty to consult," Rickford said. Ford, Rickford and Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce are set to soon meet with the leadership council of the Chiefs of Ontario, and then the ministers plan to visit First Nations in northern Ontario throughout the summer as they try to sell them on the bill. The province intends to designate the Ring of Fire, a region replete with critical minerals, as a so-called "special economic zone" where it can pick and choose which laws to lift. Last week, under pressure from First Nations, the province made several amendments to the bill in an effort to appease them. But First Nations said it was too little, too late. The province will hold off on designating the Ring of Fire the first such zone until it completes consultations with affected First Nations. First Nations have threatened to form blockades of roads, railways and mines should the bill become law. "Certainly we don't condone confrontation and, as I said, I have spoken with a number of First Nations leaders from across the province who've expressed that today is a rally, a peaceful reminder that they want to try to understand how the designation of an economic zone would affect their treaty rights," Rickford said. "We've assured them that they will in no way affect their treaties rights and that, further, the duty to consult is explicit in the bill." A legislative committee heard from First Nations leaders and environmental groups, as well as mining groups, over two days and, as the committee was considering amendments last week, the NDP and Liberals used procedural tools to grind the process to a halt, in protest. Government house leader Steve Clark has stepped in to limit further committee time and require the bill to go back to the house for third reading, with just one hour of debate, and a final vote that same day. While Bill 5 got two days of committee hearings, the six other pieces of legislation the government is speeding up have had no hearings, and will have as little as half an hour of third-reading debate, with just nine minutes each allotted to the two recognized opposition parties. New Democrat Sol Mamakwa, the legislature's lone First Nations member, said in question period that Ford was "telling untruths" about his people's approval of the mining bill. Speaker Donna Skelly asked him to withdraw the comment, which Mamakwa refused to do, so she booted him from question period. Thirty minutes later, Skelly and Mamakwa set aside their differences to feed politicians a "Taste of the North" lunch. Mamakwa had several family and community members help gather food from northwestern Ontario, fly it to Toronto and cook it at Queen's Park. The politicians ate moose, goose, lake trout, pickerel and beaver. Mamakwa has twice packed a frozen goose and brought it to Queen's Park, where he plucked and cooked it – once on the front lawn. "The beaver was a last-minute addition," Mamakwa said with a big smile on Monday. "Food brings people together." With a full belly, Mamakwa returned to his differences and set out for the protest. The opposition parties say pushing bills through without much public consultation or debate is undemocratic. The NDP's Opposition house leader, John Vanthof, spoke in a debate last week over the government limiting debate and bypassing committee for four bills – including the budget bill – in what's called a time-allocation motion. "What's happening now with the time allocation, specifically on four bills, is removing the right of the people to speak, and in many ways, the opposition to speak," Vanthof said. "You actually don't need a parliament. We're actually almost going back to where you have, like, a king. That's truly scary. I'm not opposed to the monarchy as a figurehead, but we came very far in our democracies to actually have parliaments. What the government is doing is basically making the premier the king." Vanthof stressed the seriousness of the matter, though he had the opposition benches laughing while he was reading out quotes from government house leader Steve Clark, upset about time allocation motions when he was in opposition. "My party loves to hear from people," Clark said in the waning days of the former Liberal government. "If this government doesn't want to listen to people, I'll give them a guarantee. I'll give them, actually, the people's guarantee, because we will listen to them, and we will ensure that those Ontarians are being listened to." Clark, who during that 2017 debate called such motions "anti-democratic," said last week that the younger Steve Clark was "maybe more brash and abrupt," defending the current moves. "The government has decided that these four bills are very important for us," he said. "There needs to be certainty from the government's government decides that they're going to prioritize certain things, the government is going to move forward with those legislations. That's my message." However much the former Liberal government shut down debate, the Progressive Conservative government is a worse offender, Vanthof said. "Two time allocation votes in a day was probably the previous record for the travesty to democracy, probably the previous record, and that was held by the Liberals," he said.
