Tories defend prep work on silica sand mine application

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This article was published 22/12/2023 (664 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Progressive Conservatives are defending the review of a proposed silica sand mine in southeastern Manitoba, after Premier Wab Kinew expressed skepticism with the former government’s work on the file.

The NDP government is currently taking a second look at Sio Silica’s application for a environmental licence to mine in the Rural Municipality of Springfield, Kinew said in an interview with the Free Press this week.

The premier said the application was set to receive governmental approval during the transition of power following the Oct. 3 election and prior to the NDP being sworn-in Oct. 18.

However, the NDP requested the government hold off on a decision, Kinew said. He argued the circumstances have created “some skepticism about the leg work leading up to a potential approval.”

In a statement Friday, a spokesperson for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba said the review was rigorous.

“Prior to the election, the previous PC government undertook a thorough review of the Sio Silica proposal through the Clean Environment Commission, and extended its due diligence with a technical review of the CEC’s report and further Indigenous consultations,” the spokesperson said.

The now-Opposition Tories did not say whether an approval was being considered during the transition period between governments.

In cabinet-parliamentary systems, there is a convention a governing party will refrain from making major decisions that cannot be easily reversed either during the campaign period or during the two-week transition when governments change hands.

“As is standard practice, the incoming NDP government was presented with relevant information on emerging issues and key files requiring a decision across all departments during the transition in October,” the PC spokesperson said.

“It’s incumbent on the NDP to tell Manitobans and the proponent whether or not they’ll be licensing this project.”

The Kinew government has not made a decision about the Sio Silica proposal.

However, the silica deposit in the region will most likely be developed in the future, Kinew said.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca