Ottawa – December 17, 2013 – The Joint Panel reviewing the proposed Marathon Platinum Group Metals and Copper Mine project today announced that it has received sufficient information to proceed to the public hearing. The hearing will begin in Marathon, Ontario on February 4, 2014, and will be completed within approximately 4 weeks.
All hearing sessions are open to members of the public wishing to observe the proceedings. The primary purpose of the hearing is for the Panel to receive the information it requires to complete its environmental assessment of the project. The Panel will hold public hearing sessions as follows:
- General hearing sessions will provide an opportunity for registered participants and the public to present their views on the project and its potential environmental effects. The general sessions will be held in Marathon.
- Topic-Specific hearing sessions will allow registered participants who are experts to present information relevant to the environmental assessment of the project. Note that for the purposes of the hearing, an expert is a person who provides information to the Panel on scientific, technical, social science or traditional knowledge matters. These sessions will be held in Marathon.
- Community hearing sessions will be held in selected communities for members of First Nations to allow them to express to the Panel their views and present information and issues of importance to them in an informal setting. These sessions are expected to take place in the communities of Pic River, Pic Mobert and Pays Plat. Community sessions will also be held for Métis organizations for them to express their views and present information to the Panel.
- Closing Remarks session will be held for participants to summarize their conclusions to the Panel. This session is planned for Marathon.
The Panel will conduct the hearing in accordance with the Public Hearing Procedures, issued in July 2013, which describe how the sessions will unfold and how the public may participate.
For the General and Community sessions, participants may make an oral presentation or file a written submission or both. At the Topic-Specific sessions, oral presentations must be accompanied by a written submission. Presentations on Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge may be made without an accompanying written submission.
Participants who wish to make an oral presentation to the Panel at any of the hearing sessions are asked to register by contacting the Panel Secretariat by January 7, 2014, in order to reserve a time and to assist with scheduling. The Panel will permit later registration for oral presentations, if time allows. Written submissions should be filed with the Secretariat by January 20, 2014.
To register, schedule a presentation and file a submission for the hearing, contact Cindy Parker at 613-948-2039 or Jeff Sewell at 705-670-5872 or send an email to MarathonMine.Review@ceaa-acee.gc.ca .
Approximately 90 days following the close of the hearing record, the Panel will submit its report to the federal and provincial Ministers of the Environment. The report will be made public at that time.
A Preliminary Hearing Schedule will be posted on the registry shortly. The Hearing Procedures and the sufficiency determination letter are available on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry, registry number 54755.
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