LETTER TO THE EDITOR — Ontario committed to regulatory reform

I am writing in response to the commentary on the Ontario regulatory process (T.N.M, May 12/97).

I was quite disappointed to see such a portrayal of Ontario’s regulatory system in your publication. The excerpts from the 1996 Ernst & Young report The Economic and Fiscal Contribution of the Mining Industry in Ontario are misleading when isolated from their original context.

Several passages from the section on the costs of complying with regulatory process were edited in a manner that removed historical context from the original report. Following a brief survey of the “costly, unduly time-consuming and bureaucratic” Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (which affects all provinces, not just Ontario), the report indicates that things have, in fact, changed in Ontario since the 1994 version of the same report.

While the assessment of the mining industry’s concerns and contribution has not changed significantly since 1994, the 1996 report does acknowledge that the new Ontario government “has taken steps to alleviate the regulatory burden” through “self-regulatory mine closure plans and clarification of prospectors’ exemption from liability for pre-existing environmental damage on properties they are prospecting.” Moreover, while your article included several sentences on the growth of government-Mandated costs “in recent years,” you chose to omit the same report’s encouraging assessment of the Progressive Conservative government since it was elected in 1995.

According to the report, the new government has taken steps which are resulting in an “improvement in the general investment climate in Ontario.” In fact, the same report, which you have used to create an unfavorable impression of Ontario, enthusiastically welcomes the efforts of the Progressive Conservatives to reduce compliance costs incurred in meeting regulatory standards, and states that, if reinforced by other measures to reduce taxation and the regulatory burden, [these efforts] “would help establish the stable business environment that is essential for promoting productivity-enhancing investments.”

As a minister in this government, I can assure you that we want to encourage such investments in Ontario and are firmly committed to tax reduction and the elimination of unnecessary red tape. Just last month, our 1997 budget announced 20 tax reductions which will help create jobs. This increases to 30 the number of tax cuts in the last two years, solidifying our position as one of the world’s best places for doing business. We are reducing the size of government and have been encouraged by the mining community’s response to the actions of the Red Tape Review Commission. We are exceeding our deficit reduction targets and are on track for a balanced budget.

This is a far cry from the state of affairs in 1994, and certainly deserves more attention than it has received. In the mining sector alone, we froze hydro rates for a 5-year period, as well as all taxes and fees under the Mining Act. We’ve streamlined the mine closure review process and cleared the way for more innovative techniques in mine rehabilitation. In spite of our need to find cost savings, our government has twice retained the Ontario Prospectors’ Assistance Program in order to encourage the discovery of new mines that will ensure the continued growth of Ontario’s economy. We have done all this because we agree with the excellent advice outlined in the Ernst & Young report, namely that the mining industry in Ontario contributes significantly to the economy of the province and that the well-being of this industry cannot be taken for granted.

As Ontario’s minister of mines, I can assure you that we do not take our mining industry for granted, and I believe it is fair to ask that your publication, which provides information to the industry, not take this government for granted.

Chris Hodgson

Ontario Minister of Natural Resources and Northern Development and Mines