EDITORIAL — Breaking in a new mines minister — Back to square one

Countless mines ministers, both federal and provincial, have come and gone during the 82-year history of this paper. We’ve had some good ones, some that did a passable job, and others who were plain awful. Norman Levy, a British Columbia cabinet minister during Dave Barrett’s New Democratic Party government in the 1970s, probably gets the booby prize. His left-wing meddling almost put an end to mining in British Columbia. The joke in the Yukon Territory at the time was that Levy had done more for mining in the North than any discovery and staking rush could have accomplished.

More recently, Anne McLellan did a respectable job as federal minister of natural resources in Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s cabinet. She earned the respect of the mining industry, which is no small feat given that mines-minister-bashing is a popular sport. McLellan has moved on to bigger things in the high-profile justice portfolio, and the industry is now faced with the task of breaking in her replacement.

The new man on the job is Ralph Goodale, who, like McLellan, is a lawyer by trade. But we will not hold that against him, as he paid his dues on the family farm near Wilcox, Sask., where everyone has a “feel for the land. ” Goodale continues to reside in Regina, and is a strong booster of the agricultural industry that sustains his home province. He served on numerous committees that dealt with issues important to the agricultural industry, and came to understand the concerns of the farmers who are the backbone of the prairie provinces. Goodale also has a financial background, in both the private and public sectors.

The Canadian mining industry has worked hard over recent years to make politicians aware of the importance of mining to the national economy and culture, and to ensure that companies have a sensible and workable framework in which to do business. Much of this effort was directed at eliminating regulatory duplication between federal and provincial agencies. Much remains to be done.

The only drawback to democracy is that politicians come and go rapidly. This sometimes means that just when a minister is getting a good grasp on his portfolio, it is time to move on. While we wish Anne McLellan well in her new position, the time is at hand to ensure her successor is brought equally up to speed.

The main challenge for mines ministers today is that they have to be all things to all people. Mining is not only about tonnes, grades, dilution and throughput; increasingly, it encompasses social and economic planning, such as job-training programs in local communities, as well as complex environmental issues which frequently require public input. It has become a balancing act, in the political and social sense, as well as a technical exercise.

But, at the end of the day, mines have to make economic sense. And the costs of complying with ever-increasing regulatory challenges adds up quickly.

Studies are expensive, and so are highly specialized consultants. Time is money, too.

Mining companies want to be good corporate citizens and bring local communities and aboriginal groups into the mine-planning picture. But the process must be well-defined and sharply focused — not just a politically correct exercise that costs money and accomplishes nothing.

We are hopeful that Goodale’s prairie pragmatism will help him understand this point.