The M&E Dispatch // 063
Default Yes - What Canada Could Do If It Stopped Apologizing for Building Things
Default Yes - What Canada Could Do If It Stopped Apologizing for Building Things
April 18, 2025 | Listen Online | Read Online
The M&E Dispatch // 063
Default Yes - What Canada Could Do If It Stopped Apologizing for Building Things
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Hello Everyone,
There’s a specific kind of slow-burning national embarrassment we’ve become weirdly comfortable with.
It’s not the kind that sparks outrage or headlines - it’s quieter than that. It’s the kind where we sit on one of the most resource-rich, stable, strategically located countries on earth… and still find ways to lose.
Not dramatically. Just slowly. Quietly. Bureaucratically.
Like watching Team Canada hockey eek out a 2–1 win against a country that 87% of Pincher Creek couldn’t find on a map - and then celebrating it like a win.
Welcome to the Land of Default Dead
In Canada, every industrial project - mining, energy, infrastructure, pick your poison - begins with the same assumption:
“We’re not saying no, we’re just saying... not yet. And maybe never. But please keep spending your money until we decide.”
Want to drill for lithium?
You’ll need a stack of permits, three years, and a Sherpa to guide you through the regulatory maze.
Want to build an LNG terminal?
Hope your project survives long enough to see the tenth round of consultations.
We’ve built a system where every good idea starts Default Dead - and the best-case scenario is “approved in a decade, after we’ve lost the global market share.” Go us!
So Let’s Start With Default Yes
Here’s a wild idea! What if we assumed a project should proceed - unless someone makes a compelling case why it shouldn’t?
That’s Default Yes.
Not a blank cheque. Not deregulation. Not a free-for-all.
Just a change in who carries the burden of proof.
If you want to say no - you better have a reason. Fast. And it better be good.
Because Right Now, Other Countries Are Running Laps Around Us
- The U.S. is throwing billions at reshoring supply chains and fast-tracking permits. Don’t even get me started on how fast their defence industry works.
- Australia can get a mine permitted in under a year.
- Europe is signing strategic partnerships like it’s speed dating.
- China… They’re not asking questions. They’re building things. Fast.
Meanwhile, in Canada, a battery metals refinery is treated like a nuclear waste dump proposal, and junior miners are spending more time filling out forms than pulling core.
We’re holding meetings about frameworks to discuss policy tools to consider future engagement. And then wondering why we’re falling behind.
What Could Default Yes Actually Unlock?
- Junior Miners could explore without aging out of their permits.
- Energy developers could build clean projects with predictable timelines.
- Processing and refining facilities could finally get off PowerPoint and into production.
- Clean tech companies could scale here - instead of getting poached by U.S. subsidies.
- Public servants could be measured on how many good projects they helped greenlight - not how many files they "kept moving."
And when a project is actually a bad idea? Kill it. Quickly. With transparency.
Don’t slow-walk everything else into irrelevance just to avoid risk and justify your job.
Thoughts for the Long Weekend
Canada is sitting on the mineral base, clean power, talent, and stability that the world literally wants to buy right now.
But instead of selling it, we’re still reviewing the terms of reference… for how to write the terms of reference… for the pre-consultation draft discussion.
Did you get the memo? Anne sent it to the stakeholders group. I’ll put in a request with Management to get it resent to you. Can you fax over the disclosure agreement and have it approved with your steering committee?
Meanwhile, the world is moving. Fast.
And we’re over here held up by a committee that hasn’t met since 2021 — just waiting for the UBCEMPT 2026 Conference in Vancouver, where we’ll finally get clarity during back-to-back sessions titled “Barriers to Discussing Barriers,” “Consensus on the Definition of Consensus,” and the always-popular “Next Steps for Reviewing Step One.”
// The Dirt
Osisko Metals Intersects 300 Metres Averaging 0.39% Copper at Gaspé Copper Project
Initial drilling results extend the deposit to the south and at depth, with promising scale early in the 2025 campaign.
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Commerce Resources and Mont Royal Resources Enter into Arrangement Agreement
The two companies announce a merger, aiming to create a Canadian-focused critical minerals development company.
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Goldshore Discovers Additional Mineralization Between Southwest and Main Zones
Ongoing drilling at the Moss Gold Project reveals potential to unify zones into a single mineralized body.
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Graphano Receives Exploration Work Authorisations for All Quebec Properties
The graphite developer now has full provincial authorization to advance all projects across Quebec.
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Tocvan Core Drilling Extends Main Zone, Hits 7.2 g/t Gold and 80 g/t Silver Over 2.6m
Drilling at the Gran Pilar Project in Sonora continues to hit solid grades and expand mineralized zones.
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Freeman Gold Commences Phase Four Metallurgical Test Work at Lemhi
Feasibility-driven test work begins in Kamloops, further de-risking the Idaho-based gold project.
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Bayhorse Silver Commences Drilling at New IP Target Below Historic Sunshine Stope
New drilling kicks off near a historically high-grade silver zone in Oregon with easy underground access.
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Abasca Resources Announces Maiden Graphite Resource at Loki Deposit
The first resource estimate for Abasca’s Key Lake South project highlights growing graphite momentum in Saskatchewan.
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Northern Graphite and BMI Group to Collaborate on Battery Anode Facility
Plans move forward to repurpose the Baie-Comeau paper mill into a battery materials production site.
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Klondike Gold Closes $1.5M Private Placement
The Yukon explorer raises funds to continue advancing its historical gold-bearing district.
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I’ll be spending the weekend doing the one thing in this country that doesn’t require federal approval or an environmental review, filling a cart at Walmart with clearance Easter chocolate. In a way, that’s what Default Yes looks like…
Enjoy the long weekend!
- Lee
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