LETTERS TO THE EDITOR — Mining deserves better treatment

I know many lines will be written on the recent decision by the British Columbia government to kill what I think would have been a great mine (Windy Craggy) in the province’s northwest.

It seems to me that socialists suffer from poor memories. About 20 years ago, another socialist government tried to kill the mining industry in British Columbia. That government was thrown out and the mining industry survived.

History now seems to be repeating itself. Premier Mike Harcourt, if I read him correctly, said this decision is not about mining. If, with one stroke of the pen, a prospect with the potential to be one of the great mines of North America can be eliminated, what then is this decision all about? And what hope is there for the mining industry, as a whole, to receive fair treatment? To me, this decision is about the hopes and dreams of

all mining people from the prospector and geologist, and on up the line, who put so much hard work and faith in what they are doing to bring prospects to the mining stage.

People in the business must receive assurance that when they are given the right to stake a claim, they will have an excellent chance of developing this claim into a mine if enough mineral is found to allow it.

British Columbia is a huge province rich in mineral wealth. Surely, if the government applied some measure of common sense to the problem, parks could be created, rafters could still do their thing on our great rivers and the mining industry could get going again and do what it does best: create jobs and new wealth, and maybe even help to reduce our debt in the long run. Andy Horne

Sorrento, B.C.