Energy ministers from across Canada and industry officials want a higher level of co-operation to address the country's energy needs.

Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Archie Lang said this week the parties have agreed to share information to advance technology and search for ways to streamline the regulatory process.

'We all recognize that energy technology is important to Canadians,' Lang told reporters during a late afternoon press conference. It was held to summarize Monday's discussions during the 2006 Energy and Mines Ministers Conference in Whitehorse.

'Ministers agreed that our ongoing collaborative efforts should continue to focus on technology, increasing energy efficiency and improving efficiency of regulatory processes.'

Lang co-hosted the conference along with Gary Lunn, the federal minister of Natural Resources Canada.

Lunn said it is significant that the federal government, industry and the provinces and territories will each contribute one-third of the new initiative to advance technology.

The goal, he added, is to complete by early next year a process to facilitate the sharing of information.

Both Lang and Lunn dismissed any suggestion that streamlining the regulatory process meant relaxing rules established for the protection of the environment.

There'll be no relaxation of the regulatory regime but rather attempts to avoid duplication in the permitting process that occurs between the federal and provincial jurisdictions, the ministers explained.

Lunn noted that during Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recent tour of the North, Harper spoke of the problem with the regulatory process. He noted that in the Northwest Territories, it can take up to three years to permit a mine, but nine months in Quebec.

Lunn and Lang reiterated concerns with the regulatory process at the end of Tuesday's discussions that focused on Canada's mining industry.

Again, they said, industry is concerned not with the regulations, but with the time it takes to work through the system.

It appears the problem originates in Ottawa with the lack of any specific timelines attached to processing applications and issuing permits, Lunn said.

He said the ministers from across Canada who were around the conference table this week believe strongly that building timelines into the regulatory system will not only help address delays, but also provide industry with the certainty it's looking for in the permitting process.

Lunn pointed out there were some high-level bureaucrats in attendance. They included the deputy minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the deputy minister in charge of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

'We sent a very clear message to our officials, that this is a priority for our departments,' Lunn said.

He would expect federal officials to come up with something in the next 12 months, before the next annual conference, he added.

Lunn also noted the mining industry's emphasis on advancing the Cooperative Geological Mapping Strategies to assist industry with basic geological information it uses as a tool to help target mineral exploration programs.

The Mining Association of Canada released a statement Tuesday warning the federal, provincial and territorial governments about the need to be proactive in their support of the industry.

Base metal reserves have fallen 50 to 80 per cent over the last 25 years.

But yet the Cooperative Geological Mapping Strategy remains unfunded in the last three federal budgets released by two governments. A continuing decline in reserves could bring about the closure of smelters and the loss of jobs and investment in Canada, said the association's statement.

The association also emphasized the industry could require up to 81,000 people over the next decade, and called upon governments to work the mining sector and educational institutions to address the labour needs.

Statistics released by the mining association Tuesday show that 388,000 Canadians are employed in the industry which brings $42 billion to the country's economy and accounts for 14 per cent of exports.

A joint statement released by the ministers underscored the importance of mining to the Canadian economy and the employment opportunities from northern communities to the large urban centres.

'It also drives export growth, not only in the minerals and metals sector buy also in the service, supply and equipment industries,' reads the statement.

'For Canada to remain a competitive world leader in mining, we need to focus our priorities on innovation, capacity building, improving the taxation and fiscal climate for investment, as well branding Canada in international markets.

'To do this, we are working collaboratively, so that communities in every province and territory can prosper.'

The meetings were closed to the public and media, but were attended by scores of government officials and industry representatives.