Victoria, March 14, 2005 -- The Honourable Stéphane Dion, federal Minister of the Environment, and the Honourable George Abbott, British Columbia Minister of Sustainable Resource Management, today released for public comment a draft agreement for the establishment of a joint review panel for the proposed Kemess North Copper-Gold Mine in north central British Columbia. This federal-provincial draft agreement is in accordance with the Canada-British Columbia Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation, signed in March 2004. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office invite First Nations and the public to provide written comments on the draft agreement. Comments received by April 13, 2005 will be considered. After taking comments into consideration, the draft agreement will be finalized and a joint panel will be established to review the project. The decision to conduct a panel-level environmental assessment follows a request from the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. This project is also subject to the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Act. "Conducting a coordinated environmental assessment for this mine expansion project will ensure a more efficient use of public resources," stated Minister Dion. "This form of federal-provincial cooperation has been effective in the past when both governments combined their efforts on the environmental assessment of a common project." "The province is working productively with the federal government to harmonize our assessment processes," said Minister Abbott. "Public consultation and First Nations' participation are important elements in any major project. I am pleased the draft agreement provides opportunities for both in the environmental assessment of this project."Northgate Minerals Corporation proposes to develop the Kemess North copper and gold deposit, located 6 km north of its existing Kemess Mine, and 250 km northeast of Smithers. The project would include development of a new open pit, modification of the existing mill and related infrastructure. The milling capacity at the operating Kemess mine would be expected to increase from the current 55,000 tonnes per day to up to 120,000 tonnes per day. A copy of the draft agreement is available on the Web sites of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and of the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office. The draft document can also be viewed at the following centres: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency 757 West Hastings Street, Suite 320 Sinclair Centre Vancouver, BC V6C 1A1 British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 836 Yates Street, 2nd Floor Victoria, BC V8W 9V1 Please direct your comments to: Susan Toller Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency 160 Elgin Street, Place Bell Canada Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H3 Tel.: (613) 957-0752 Fax: (613) 957-0941 E-mail: susan.toller@ceaa-acee.gc.ca Anne Currie British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office PO Box 9426 Stn Prov Govt 836 Yates Street, 2nd Floor Victoria, BC V8W 9V1 Tel.: (250) 387-1032 Fax: (250) 387-2208 E-mail: Anne.Currie@gems6.gov.bc.ca To register as an interested party and to be kept informed of the panel's activities, please provide a full mailing address, an e-mail address and/or a fax number, as applicable, to one of the contacts listed above. - 30 - For more information, media may contact: Robert Deslauriers Senior Communications Advisor Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Tel.: (613) 957-0396 Mike Long Communications Director Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management Tel.: (250) 387-4965
