EDITORIAL PAGE (April 13, 1992)

It’s stunning to see how easily Ontario Premier Bob Rae can so completely ignore in the speech from the throne what he had so fervently supported just days earlier.

In late March a grassroots campaign called Save Our North, initiated in northern Ontario’s resource-based communities, managed to coral Rae into making an appearance at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s annual convention.

Recession weary delegates to the convention weren’t looking for handouts or some kind of free ride. They just wanted the government to acknowledge that mining plays a vital role in our economy. They wanted the government to make a commitment to support the mining industry, not through subsidies but by stating publicly that it supported mining even though it would continue to demand high standards on those social issues dear to the NDP’s heart. Rae told them what they wanted to hear. “Mining has played a vital part in the growth of the province,” he said, “and it will be my government’s objective to see that it continues to do so.”

But a week later, when Rae had the perfect opportunity to show that support in the provincial speech from the throne, he completely ignored mining. What’s more, his government’s firmest commitments such as its promise to proceed with the Ontario Labour Relations Act, are the very efforts that will further undermine mining’s competitive position.

The speech referred to many companies and industries that the government is most proud of — including foreign owned subsidiaries such as Canadian General Electric and Sandoz Ltd. and bailouts such as Spruce Falls Power and Paper and de Havilland Aircraft.

But nowhere did the speech give any hint that mining was on that favored list. The speech made commitments to develop a “green industry strategy” (that is, ways to make money from protecting the environment), to agricultural loans and to energy conservation.

But nowhere did it recognize the need for resource industries like mining to remain competitive with those operating in other political jurisdictions. It promised to allocate more resources to “tackle the backlog” at the Ontario Municipal Board — in other words, to spend more money on easing bureaucratic hassles of the government’s own creation.

But there was no mention of the need to resolve the uncertainties facing mining on the issues of land access or native land claims, uncertainties that are holding back much needed investment in mineral exploration. Nowhere did the government give any indication that it would back the industry that has helped pay the bills to support the social programs it promised to enhance.

Nowhere did the speech offer any appreciation of what mining has done or what it is willing to do in the future. Nowhere did it simply say that mining is welcome in Ontario.

This government’s strategy is clear. It won’t abandon mining — that would be foolhardy. It will simply ignore it. It will refuse to acknowledge the benefits of mining for fear of alienating those voters who are more concerned with creating day care spaces than with creating wealth.

The mining industry in Ontario is not likely to get any greater support from this government than the platitudes that its premier so easily mouths at industry conventions and social gatherings.