Ministers can’t guarantee MDAs

Robert Ginn, president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada , said “there is a great silence out there” about the future of MDAs. In the PDA C’s brief to the conference, Ginn argued strongly that MDAs be renewed for at le ast one more term.

“The abrupt withdrawal of MDA support at this time will result in a serious disruption in the continuity and progress of geological survey programs in many of the provinces and territories,” said Ginn.

MDAs are a means of transferring funds from the federal government to provincial governments under an economic regional development agreement . While the trans fer must be approved at the federal level by the Minister of Finance as part of the umbrella agreement, it is up to Epp and his provincial counterparts to deter mine, in the form of the MDAs, how the funds will be spent.

The agreements, generally five years in duration, have proved a boon for research and mapping in the mining sector since their inception in 1984 . That informa tion is used as a basis for mineral exploration by the private sector.

While Epp voiced his support in principle for the MDAs, the final communique at the conference, said only that there will be a second round of MDAs in Atlanti c Canada. Epp would not say how long the second round of MDAs for Atlantic Canad a will be in effect nor at what level the funding will be.

The communique also said discussions on MDAs for provinces and territories elsewhere in the country “is a high priority.”

The meeting in Sudbury was the first time the conference of mines ministers has been held outside of a capital city. About 200 delegates attended t he 4-day co nference from every province and territory in Canada except Prince Edward Island

While the subject of MDAs was prominent during the conference, the final commu nique referred to several other key issues facing the industry, particulary those focussing on research and development in keeping with the theme o f the confere nce: “Mining and Exploration Research: Maintaining the Competitive Edge.”

Other topics on the agenda included: land use and sustainable development, export opportunities for Canada’s acid rain abatement technology, and t he provision of back-up technical services in foreign markets to encourage sales.

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