Canada’s provincial, territorial and federal ministers of energy and mines will converge on Sudbury August 24 to 26.
The annual Energy and Mines Ministers Conference, co-hosted this year by the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) and Natural Resources Canada “is an opportunity for ministers across the country to get together and discuss items of mutual interest and concern,” said Cindy Blancher-Smith, MNDM’s assistant deputy minister, mines and minerals.
“It also allows them to share best practices and look at the health of exploration and mining in the country as a whole as opposed to just focusing on their own jurisdictions.”
The conference rotates among Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial jurisdictions, and was last held in Sudbury in 1990. In 2013, ministers gathered in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and the year before that in Charlottetown, Price Edward Island. Typically, the conference consists of technical sessions, panel discussions, ministers meetings and technical tours.
Between 250 and 300 people are expected to attend, including ministerial staff and mining association representatives from across Canada.
Conference organizers are working with staff from the City of Sudbury, local mining companies, the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation, Science North, and MIRARCO to roll out the red carpet and showcase the city’s mining expertise.
The conference itself, which is closed to the public, will take place at Laurentian University.
An agenda and topics to be addressed were not available at press time.
