Quebec Government Commits $1.6M To Mining Industry Sustainability

The financial incentive replaces the current tax credit

Today, Quebec’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources announces the Support Program for Sustainable Development in 2021 mining companies -2024. The purpose of this financial assistance program is to encourage mining exploration companies, their service providers and mining companies to improve their sustainable development practices.

To achieve this, the Government of Quebec has provided, in its 2021-2022 Budget Plan, a sum of $1.6 million over two years. This initiative replaces the tax allowance for certification in sustainable development in the mining tax regime, which ended on 1^st  January 2022.

The objectives of the Program are more specifically to promote the following elements:

• obtaining ECOLOGO® UL sustainable development certification within the mining exploration industry, either with exploration companies and their service providers;
• the emergence of leaders in sustainable development practices within the mining sector;

The Program has two components. Component A subsidizes mining exploration companies and their service providers for ECOLOGO® UL 2723 and ECOLOGO® UL 2724 certification audits, developed by the UQAT-UQAM Chair in Mining Entrepreneurship at the initiative of the Association de la mining exploration in Quebec. Stream B subsidizes mining companies for external audits enabling the implementation of the Mining Association of Canada’s “Towards Sustainable Mining Development” continuous improvement initiative .

To be eligible, the project must have been completed between 1^st January 2022 and 31 March 2024. The program will end on that date, or when the budget has been fully committed.

Retroactivity is possible for eligible expenses until 1 ^st April 2021, provided that the beneficiaries have not applied for the same expenses as part of the tax allowance for certification in sustainable development or another credit program or a subsidy from the Quebec government.

The amount of financial assistance granted for component A may not exceed $20,000 per beneficiary for the duration of the Program. The amount of financial assistance granted for component B may not exceed $25,000 per activity and $50,000 per beneficiary for the duration of the Program.

Requests will be analyzed in the order in which they are received until the funds are used up for the current fiscal year.