Bennett supports power cost deferral for BC miners

VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s Minister of Energy & Mines Bill Bennett said during a press conference on Jan. 26 at this year’s Mineral Exploration Roundup convention that miners in the province can expect a decision quickly on whether operational power costs will be deferred until commodity markets bounce back.

“There are mining companies in the province that ask themselves on a daily basis whether they should keep operations going,” he said. “If there’s something we can do — such as deferring power costs — to help them make the decision to stay open and keep thousands of people employed, then you know what my view is. I hope we do it — and we’ll make that decision [soon].”

The announcement has met with criticism from the province’s New Democratic Party, which argues that BC Hydro is already weighed down with $5 billion in deferral accounts, and taxpayers could be stuck with the bill if the miners can’t pay.

“The majority of deferral account are being paid down right now, and that’s what you want,” Bennett said. “This program is quite different than a subsidy, which is what most people think we’re doing … if we do defer, the amount would go into an account that would bear interest, so when commodity prices come back, they would pay off those accounts with interest.”

While miners face crumbling commodity markets, comments by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland added to the uncertainty for miners in Canada.

“My predecessor wanted you to know Canada for its resources,” Trudeau said. “I want you to know Canadians for our resourcefulness.”

Bennett said that Trudeau’s words may have been taken out of context, and may not reflect the country’s direction on developing its resources.

“I’ve been quoted many times in my 15-year [political] career, and regretted some of the things that I’ve said and just the context I said them in, so perhaps there’s some element of that here,” Bennett said.

“In Canada we have some of the most technologically advanced mining methods — along with forestry and oil and gas methods — anywhere in the world, and the world needs those resources,” Bennett said. “Where else would you rather have those resources come from than in Canada, [which] cares about the environment and includes indigenous people — this is the best place for the world to get their resources, because we do it right here.”