auditor general\u2019s report<\/a> critical of the ministry to support his assertions. The review revealed a major gap in how the law is actually being applied.<\/p>\nIn a third of the cases examined (10 out of 30), the ministry ignored community concerns regarding deforestation, road restoration and environmental protection, choosing not to include them as conditions in the permits.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ministry does not effectively carry out its responsibilities regarding exploration activities, particularly with respect to their oversight and the authorization of work, in a manner that promotes the social acceptability of these activities,\u201d the report reads.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Konstantia Koutouki, a law professor at Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al, said communities are rightly concerned that once exploration begins, the project becomes more difficult to stop, even if future consultations are planned.<\/p>\n
“This creates a broader debate about whether consultation processes provide communities with meaningful influence or mainly allow them to react to decisions that are already moving forward,” Koutouki said in an email.<\/p>\n
“So far, history dictates the latter.”<\/p>\n
WATCH | Carney backs major graphite mine in Quebec:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779799810_604_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Carney breaks ground on graphite mine in Quebec<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mark Carney broke ground for what is slated to be the largest graphite mine in the G7. Carney spoke during a downpour outside of Nouveau Monde Graphite\u2019s future Matawinie Mine in Quebec.Company open to dialogue<\/p>\n
In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for Quebec\u2019s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests confirmed it granted a permit to Fresnillo for exploratory work on May 13, 2026, and that the community was consulted prior to this initial phase.<\/p>\n
Spokesperson Simon Baillargeon said that if the project “progresses toward active mining operations, the community will be consulted again” as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment. <\/p>\n
Only after that is completed will Quebec “issue a decree on whether or not to authorize the mining project,” Baillargeon said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fresnillo declined an interview request. The company said in a statement it was aware of the concerns among members of the Anishinaabe First Nation. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are available to discuss the matter with community representatives and reiterate our willingness to meet with them to continue the dialogue,\u201d the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the start of the Novador project, outreach and information-sharing efforts have been carried out with various local stakeholders, including the Lac-Simon community, which has always been invited to participate in discussions regarding the project.\u201d <\/p>\n
The 2024 project proposal document<\/a>, however, states there is no alternative possibility to an open-pit mine.<\/p>\nWabanonik said that\u2019s something his community is against, and it is considering taking the case to court.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve already decided that it’s going to happen if they don’t listen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a pocket of the boreal forest of Quebec’s Abitibi-T\u00e9miscamingue region already scarred by past mining, a proposed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-709238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"chief](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1780372938_356_default.jpg\")
Lac-Simon Anishinaabe Nation Chief Lucien Wabanonik with workers at the site of the proposed Novador mining project. (Jean-Michel Cotnoir\/Radio-Canada)<\/p>\n