EDITORIAL PAGE — Thumbs up for diamond mines

Anyone who has flown in Canada’s North has probably picked up a copy of Above & Beyond, the in-flight magazine published for Inuit-owned First Air.

The glossy publication is unabashedly bullish on mining and up to date on the latest diamond-related developments in the Northwest Territories. And small wonder, considering that both the magazine and the airline have enjoyed a substantial boost from all the diamond exploration activity of recent years. Above & Beyond’s publisher, Jake Ootes, says the local economy was sluggish and that Yellowknife businesses were suffering before the first diamond discoveries were made. But all that has changed, and the improved activity of the past three years has been welcomed by northerners, including aboriginal groups who have proclaimed they are “open for business.”

The housing market was rejuvenated, southern law firms opened up offices in Yellowknife and the flurry of activity created jobs for carpenters, electricians, pilots, stakers, land surveyors, heavy equipment operators, geologists, engineers, diamond drillers . . . and the list continues. And as Ootes points out, the boom also created jobs for environmentalists, ecologists and wildlife management personnel.

He stresses, however, that many northerners are worried that a production decision for the diamond project may be delayed by the Environment Assessment Review Panel (EARP), a federal government initiative set up to look at the potential environmental consequences of industrial projects. Ootes doesn’t argue that the review is unnecessary; rather, he thinks it is, providing the review be carried out responsibly and that it does not create “costly and unnecessary delays.”

Considering the scope of the review and what’s at stake for Canada (and for the Northwest Territories and aboriginal groups, in particular), the publisher says a positive EARP decision and federal cabinet approval in 1995 “would be in the best interest of all concerned.”

Ootes is not alone in this view. The Yellowknife Chamber of Mines is also calling for a timely and responsible decision for diamond mining. And the chamber is demonstrating its support by establishing a “mining support committee” to facilitate the EARP process.

Aboriginals are also on side, and poised to benefit from preferential recruitment, from spinoff businesses and from education and training opportunities.

Ootes and many others believe that, by world standards, the Northwest Territories has a major mineral discovery in its backyard, one that will attract foreign investment of more than $500 million. “Economic development is urgently needed in the North,” he says, adding that “we can’t be complacent, convinced that a diamond mine will definitely proceed.” He warns that without action and support, the northern diamond project is little more than a pipe dream.

Ootes’ point is well taken, but this support should not come only from northerners. It is time for southerners also to put pen to paper and urge EARP and the federal government to bring in a timely and responsible decision that will lead to Canada’s first diamond mine.

After all, Ottawa isn’t exactly so flush with cash that it can turn up its nose at a project which has the potential to generate hundreds of jobs and a large new tax stream, possibly starting in 1997.