“Québec excels at walking that tight rope of promoting high ESG mining standards while remaining an attractive place for mining companies to do business.”

Can you provide an overview of Miller Thomson’s work within the Québec mining sector?

Miller Thomson is a full-service law firm, deeply rooted in communities across Canada. We have over 525 lawyers located across 11 strategically placed offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto, Vaughan, Markham and Montréal. In terms of clients, we run the whole gamut from junior exploration mining companies, to more mature mine operators listed on the TSX.

Have you noticed an increase in strategic minerals-related work in the past year?

There is a lot of work needed to secure the supply of strategic minerals. Competing with China’s monopoly over the refining of these strategic metals is critical, and the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US will improve the dynamic in implementing a North American autonomous ecosystem able to supply the battery critical minerals required for the electrification of transport and the transition to a carbon neutral economy. Throughout 2021 and again during the first six months of 2022, Miller Thomson was active in financing and M&A transactions involving companies active in the development, production or trade of critical minerals, such as lithium, palladium, cobalt and manganese.

How can the Québec government help mining companies maintain a competitive edge?

I believe that Québec excels at walking that tight rope of promoting high ESG mining standards while remaining an attractive place for mining companies to do business. That said, there is always room for improvement in maintaining that balance.

For many years, the Québec government has been proactive in supporting the mining industry. The polls ahead of the election campaign which will take place this September and October suggest that this supportive policy will continue.

To what extent does the increased focus on ESG standards impact the work of law firms like Miller Thomson?

The new emerging field of green finance (green equity, green and/or sustainable bonds, sustainability-linked bonds and green loans) is creating new opportunities for corporate finance lawyers like me. These new financing tools based on ESG factors or green taxonomies will favor participants in the mining industry that have integrated ESG factors in their operations or who are engaged onto a carbon neutral pathway, protection of biodiversity and air and water pollution mitigating measures. These new financing tools have the potential to attract new investors who are not currently investing in mining companies because of their perceived negative environmental and social impacts. Despite the potential pushback of some industry players against the popularity of ESG-based investment that may be amplified by a recession looming on the horizon, ESG factors are here to stay. The mining industry is always hungry for more capital; therefore, mining-industry executives should learn to embrace ESG principles since they are becoming critical.

The disparity of ESG evaluating and disclosing methods often cited by industry players as an impediment is the focus of the recently established International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The publication in March of the Climate Exposure Draft and the Sustainability Exposure Drafts by the ISSB is certainly a step in the right direction. Securities regulators in Canada have also put climate related risk disclosure on their regulatory radar. This is an evolving field where lawyers like me can help clients navigate and understand the impacts that all these new rules will have on their life as a reporting issuer.

Could you provide examples of ESG-related work Miller Thomson has carried out?

We often conduct audit of Board policies to see how we can improve them to make them more ESG compliant. Also, we are closely involved with conversations between companies and First Nations, highlighting the S in ESG. Understanding how native people governance and decision-making processes work is critical for any mining company operating not only in Northern Québec, but also in any place of the world where indigenous people are living. Finally, divestiture of “brown” assets or monetization of carbon assets are other sectors where our teams have been involved.