Letters to the Editor Flow-through shares

In regard to flow-through shares and the great impact they have had on the Prospectors and Developers Association’s recent convention, I wish to state that the reason I refused to join the Flow-Through Committee as a respresentative for Manitoba was strictly because of its support for Ed Broadbent and the ndp party.

Can you imagine my horror when I walked into our main convention hall and saw there, predominantly displayed, a picture of Ed Broadbent? The leader of this party has, over the years, called us “corporate welfare bums” and every name in the book and up until just recently was condemning the flow- through shares as a “corporate ripoff.” Now he sees a chance to jump in and hurt Mr (Michael) Wilson (finance minister), so he has come out in favor of flow-through.

I have been exploring in the western provinces, namely Manitoba and Saskatchewan, for more than 30 years, 20 of those with my own company. In the early ’70s, the ndp was elected in both these provinces and later in British Columbia. They put in a program of confiscation of every prospector’s claims by passing legislation giving the government the right to participate in any program of over $10,000. They participated in them all and took half of all the prospectors’ claims.

The result of this was the end of the mining industry in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and B.C.

You cannot tell me about the ndp for I have been there and so have many of my colleagues. What did the major companies like Inco, Hudson Bay and Sherritt Gordon do in Manitoba? They completely stopped all exploration. The ndp government of the early and mid-’70s caused the demise of the prospector and developer in three western provinces and the effects will be felt for many years to come.

Do not be so gullible and so naive as to hand the pda to such people as these. Our mining industry can never again stand another Barrett, Blakeney or Schreyer, or any other representative of the ndp.

The people of Ontario and Quebec, who are the main push on the flow-through shares, have never lived under an ndp government. I hope you will never have to. Please accept the advice I am giving you as to what happens under a socialist government. If the ndp does take over, I can guarantee that there will not be 4,000 people at our annual convention as there was this year, but maybe a handful of 20 or 30. The halls will be empty if we fall into the trap of supporting socialists who do not believe in private enterprise.

I do not want anyone to misinterpret this letter and believe that I am not in favor of flow-through shares. I believe they are the best thing that ever happened to the junior mining industry in Canada. What I am cautioning against is any support by the mining industry for Ed Broadbent and the socialist party of which he is the leader. W. Bruce Dunlop, P.Eng. Winnipeg, Man.