MAC `ambassadors’ determined to keep mining in Canada

As the federal election heats up, Canadians whose livelihoods are tied to mining should ask their riding candidates what they intend to do — if anything — to keep the industry in Canada.

That is the message being promoted by a committee of four, recently appointed by the the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) to act as “ambassadors” for the Canadian mining industry.

The group consists of: Wayne Fraser, director of safety and the environment for Manitoba-based Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting; Wayne Spilsbury, vice-president for Teck Exploration in western Canada; Helene Cartier, environmental engineer for Cambior (in Rouyn-Noranda, Que.); and Maureen Jensen, president of Noble Peak Resources (in Toronto).

In the months ahead, these four will take the industry’s 10-point plan to the Canadian people by way of town hall meetings, open-line radio programs and other approaches, in their respective parts of the country.

Their message is plain: Something has to be done to reverse the flight of mining investment from Canada. The MAC has identified 10 means by which government and industry can achieve this.

Government can:

* improve land-use planning to ensure both that the environment is protected and that companies have access for mining development;

~~* streamline federal-provincial environmental regulations to avoid costly duplications and delays;

* respect mineral property rights so as to reduce uncertainty and restore investor confidence;

* change tax laws on mine reclamation funding to encourage investment in new mines;

* and improve infrastructure in northern Canada, thereby enhancing the region’s economic self-reliance.

Meanwhile, industry can:

* participate in the Whitehorse Initiative;

* implement a new system for managing environmental matters; * promote greater skills and productivity in the workforce, as well as safer work places;

* support programs which advance technology for

improving environmental

controls, competitiveness and safety standards;

* and establish a “Canadian Mining Industry Federation” to co-ordinate mining industry initiatives.

The national campaign was launched by MAC Chairman Louis Gignac and MAC President George Miller at a well-attended press conference at the University of Toronto.

This setting was selected, Miller said, to emphasize the MAC’s determination to ensure that this is not the last generation of geologists to graduate from Canadian universities and find jobs in this country.

The MAC is alarmed by the departure of mining investment from Canada to Latin America and other parts of the world were governments pursue new mining ventures more agressively than in Canada.

In the 10-year period from 1981 to 1991, investment in Canadian mining fell by 50%.

From 1991 to 1992, more than 150 companies around the world reduced expenditures on Canadian exploration by 30%, to $302 million from $430 million.

“Mining companies are increasingly being forced to look elsewhere for new opportunities,” complained Alex Balogh, president of Noranda Minerals. “We’re a Canadian-owned company that has been involved in mining in Canada for nearly 70 years, and we intend to keep doing business here. But there need to be significant changes to this country’s economic and regulatory framework to encourage mining exploration and development. We know we’re needed in Canada, but we’re not sure we’re wanted.”

— Patrick Whiteway is editor of Canadian Mining Journal.