BC committed to geoscience

The government of British Columbia is committed to building a thriving private-sector economy that creates high-paying job opportunities, including those in the mining and mineral exploration industry.

As you may be aware, the B.C. government is undertaking a core services review to refocus government and ensure non-core activities and functions are eliminated.

The objective is to ensure taxpayers’ dollars are directed to the highest-priority requirements and to those areas where the government is best placed to deliver services.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines has completed its core services review. As a result, the Ministry has been authorized to focus efforts on fostering investment in the province.

Traditional core functions such as permitting, compliance and enforcement, and geoscience activity will continue, but methods will differ. For example, the Ministry will shift to results-based permitting, standards-based compliance and a more focused and responsive regulations regime. This should result in a much more streamlined permitting process.

Contrary to some reports, we are not eliminating geoscience work. We will continue geoscience programs but in a focused public-private partnership model.

Having said that, final budget targets for the next three fiscal years will not be available until early in the new year. As a result, we cannot finalize the reconfiguration of the Ministry and the details of staff reductions. It is fair to assume, however, that the Ministry will be smaller by 2003-04, as is the case for most ministries in government.

In addition, I want to take this opportunity to reiterate actions taken by this government toward a revitalized mining and mineral exploration industry. In support of the industry, we have taken the following steps: the introduction of a 20% flow-through share tax credit for new mineral exploration; the elimination of the provincial sales tax on production machinery and equipment; the reduction, effective Jan. 1, 2002, of B.C.’s corporate income tax rate to 13.5% (the same as Alberta’s); the reduction of the corporate capital tax by 50%, and its elimination by Sept. 1, 2002; and the reduction in personal income tax rates by 25%.

I am confident these changes, along with our commitment to rebuilding the industry in British Columbia, will aid in making the province one of the most attractive jurisdictions for mining and mineral exploration in North America.

Richard Neufeld

Minister of Energy and Mines

British Columbia

Cartoon in poor taste

Your cartoon trashing press releases by environmental groups (T.N.M., Dec. 3-9/01) is pass and in poor taste.

Surely the mining industry is best served when The Northern Miner reports, as it does, on co-operative searches for truth and environmental preservation by environmental groups and industry that are typical of worthwhile modern feasibility studies, developments and mines. If so, who needs the trash?

Hamish McGregor

Collingwood, Ont.