How the Department of Mines of Canada Serves the Public

The Department of Mines as at present constituted has evolved from the organization which came into existence following the passage of the Geology and Mines Act by the Dominion Parliament in 1907. At the outset, it may be said that it is not a function of the Department of Mines, nor of any of its branches, to administer the mining rights vested in the Crown. The title to Crown lands in the provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia ( with the exception of certain specified areas, such as Indian Reserves, Ordnance Lands, the Railway Belt of British Columbia, and the Peace River Black) is vested in the respective provincial governments ; the title to Crown Lands in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, the Yukon and Northwest Territories, and in the Canadian Arctic, is vested in the Dominion Government, and matters pertaining thereto are (with a few exceptions) administered by the Department of the Interior, Ottawa. Nor are statistics of mineral production at present collected and published by the Department of Mines. This function did belong to the Geological Survey from 1886 to 1906, and to the Mines Branch from 1907 to 1920; but commencing with 192l this duty was transferred to the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, consequent upon the decision of Government to place the collection of all statistics under the direction of one officer.