What are some Environmental concerns?

For more than 200 years, explorers have been setting out upon the boreal forest with the hopes of discovering mineral riches. Many of them did, and to this day mining continues to play a large role in the Canadian economy. Unfortunately, many of these mines were constructed with little to no environmental oversight or with the long-term health of the forest in mind. Today, more than 7, 000 abandoned mines can be found scattered throughout the forest, with more than 3, 000 of them within 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) of a lake, river, or stream. Some were left in such bad condition that contaminants could still be found leaking into nearby waterways decades after closure.

Many provinces still feature antiquated 'free-entry' mining systems. These essentially permit mineral staking almost anywhere in the boreal forest and, in many cases, gives whoever owns those staked tenures the primary rights over using the land regardless of who or what is nearby. This has led to numerous conflicts with nearby affected Aboriginal communities, which in many cases were offered no say in approving the projects or any tangible benefits—jobs, community funds, etc.—from the new developments. A less discussed threat posed by mining is the 'spider web' effect of access roads. In many cases a road to a single development site opens the area up to a new wave of exploration, eventually leading to a spider's web of new roads and developments in the surrounding area over time.