COMMENTARY/GEORGE MILLER — Mining works for Canada

The author is outgoing president of the Mining Association of Canada. On the eve of his retirement from that Ottawa-based organization, he has written the following article at the request of Keep Mining in Canada, a campaign designed to increase awareness of the importance of mining in this country.

As I retire from the Mining Association of Canada, I look back with great satisfaction on the establishment, in 1993, of the Keep Mining in Canada campaign.

The campaign was born out of an urgent situation. Investment in Canadian mining was drying up, and this lack of funding was having a devastating effect on mining communities across the country. Jobs were disappearing and mines were closing.

To reverse the drain, we needed to take immediate action, and our focus was to inform federal decision-makers. Not only did we have to demonstrate the scope of the problem to them; we also had to press them to adopt policies that would bring mining investment back to this country.

We decided that this would be a campaign with a difference, one that found its energy and voice in the grass roots, and we turned to those who knew the industry best — Canadians living in mining communities. They would carry our message to Ottawa.

>From coast to coast, we found thousands of supporters — miners in northern Ontario; mayors in British Columbia’s interior; prospectors in Newfoundland; mining suppliers in Winnipeg; the citizens of Yukon mining communities; and executives on Toronto’s Bay Street. They responded magnificently, with petitions, postcards and municipal resolutions, and by attending our annual Lobby Day on Parliament Hill.

They called for regulatory reform, for a climate that encourages investment and mineral exploration in Canada, for the timely and fair settlement of land claims, and for land-use decisions that recognize title and provide access for mineral exploration and development. Through regular correspondence with urban members of Parliament, they stressed how essential a healthy mining industry is — not just to mining communities, but to the entire Canadian economy.

By any measure, their efforts have been highly successful. For four years, they have carried Keep Mining in Canada’s message to Ottawa, and the government has listened. Some progress has been made, and today the flood of mining investment out of Canada has been stemmed. Although there is still work to be done, the future of Canadian mining, thanks to the efforts of Keep Mining in Canada, looks brighter today than it did in 1993.

I want to thank personally all those across Canada who stood up for this wonderful industry. Like me, they know that mining works for Canada.