COMMENTARY — Mining representatives take their case to Parliament Hill

The Keep Mining In Canada campaign is going to Parliament Hill on Oct. 18 for our first Lobby Day, and everyone with a stake in mining is invited to participate.

Together, we will meet with members of Parliament to discuss the issues affecting our industry. In doing so, we will bring them up to date on the issues facing Canadian mining companies and call for government action to streamline the regulatory process. The day will begin with a breakfast briefing session. A press conference will be held mid-morning and there will be a reception in the evening.

We are calling on members of Parliament to cut government red tape, and the unnecessary duplication involved in gaining the environmental and other approvals companies are obligated to collect before a mine can open. This issue is a key part of Keep Mining In Canada’s Ten-Point Plan. We are calling for action on this issue before the end of 1995, as promised in Industry Minister John Manley’s so-called Orange Book, Building a More Innovative Economy. We are concerned that attempts made by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment to address this issue have been derailed, and we will be calling on government to get them back on track.

In conjunction with Lobby Day, the Mining Association of Canada is co-sponsoring a workshop on regulatory streamlining with Natural Resources Canada. This session, scheduled for Oct. 19, will involve discussions between representatives of the mining industry and government. Seminars will be devoted to four topics: environmental harmonization and streamlining; land-use planning; definition of waste; and amendments to the Fisheries Act.

Over the past two years, Keep Mining In Canada has won the support of a broad range of mining interests from coast to coast. Among these supporters are: mining executives; mine workers and their families; prospectors and developers; mayors of mining communities; and suppliers.

For Lobby Day, these supporters are invited to meet with their elected representatives in the nation’s capital and ask them, in person, to take action so that mining is kept in Canada. For more information, please phone me at (416) 480-7342.

— Eileen Wykes is project manager for Keep Mining In Canada, a national grassroots campaign designed to increase awareness of the importance of mining and to stimulate government action to improve the investment climate for mining in this country.