by Tom Hoefer, executive director of the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines
It鈥檚 virtually impossible to shift the opinions of someone who opposes mining, but to those with an open mind, let me provide some feedback to Bob Bromley鈥檚 critique of my recent guest comment.
In regards to his statement on, 鈥�... the steep cost of mine site clean-ups to taxpayers,鈥� nobody wants another Giant, a historical mine with no reclamation security. Thankfully, times and rules have changed. Today鈥檚 modern mines provide hundreds of millions of dollars in security to ensure reclamation at no cost to taxpayers should a bankruptcy occur.
鈥�... most mine employees reside ... outside the NWT.鈥� That鈥檚 true. Approximately 52 per cent live in the south. Attracting more 黑料吃瓜网ers into mining careers can help turn this around. To help, our chamber has launched a miningnorthworks.com website. Check it out! Perhaps now MLA O鈥橰eilly and Mr. Bromley can help us rally for earth sciences in the school curriculum and the polytechnic.
鈥溾�� leading researchers have termed our resource revenue and royalty rates as being charitable." Sadly, the leading researcher MLA O鈥橰eilly quoted overlooked $38 million of Diavik鈥檚 royalties in his analysis. However, he correctly observed that the mine's high cost of building winter roads and generating expensive diesel power 鈥渟hrinks royalty and corporate income tax payments.鈥�
This leads one to conclude that government investment in the road through the Slave Geological Province Corridor and Taltson hydropower will help increase royalties. That鈥檚 one reason we support the GNWT in advancing this infrastructure.
鈥溾�� that all the infrastructure mentioned was largely paid for by taxpayer subsidies.鈥� History doesn鈥檛 bear this out. Government paying for infrastructure is an investment, like the bank paying for your house. It鈥檚 not a subsidy since you pay the bank back over time. Pine Point is a good example. Over its life, the mine paid off the government鈥檚 costs of the Taltson hydropower facility, and even the railway. Both are still serving 黑料吃瓜网ers long after the mine closed. Thank mining for helping make them possible.
Blaming mining for 鈥渁 failure to diversify our 黑料吃瓜网 economy鈥� is a stretch. Government has, and continues to try to diversify the economy, today with farming, fishing, furs and tourism. Any failures to diversify the economy are more likely the high costs of doing business in the North, something our industry also suffers from.
When Mr. Bromley blames mining for creating 鈥渁 vulnerable economy susceptible to the volatile commodities market,鈥� he ignores the fact that even a diversified economy with farming, fishing, tourism, and trapping is also susceptible to the markets.
Frankly, I鈥檓 gobsmacked when Mr. Bromley and MLA O鈥橰eilly blithely observe that vice taxes from alcohol and tobacco are higher than mining royalties. I hope that they are focusing their attention on helping reduce those taxes.
Finally, while I鈥檓 not a petroleum expert, when Mr. Bromley criticizes the government鈥檚 intent to develop natural gas because 鈥溾�� most of our natural gas today derives from fracking,鈥� I would observe that the natural gas the premier and Inuvialuit are promoting is not fracked gas, rather it is conventional gas from the rich Beaufort Delta fields. With greenhouse gas emissions lower than coal or even diesel, this conventional gas could help arrest climate change.
I know I cannot change someone鈥檚 entrenched opposition to mining, but I can try to provide correct information to those looking to make informed decisions. That is my job.
There are over 1,000 mine workers living in Yellowknife, and many businesses that rely on mining. Many are MLA O鈥橰eilly鈥檚 constituents. I鈥檓 sure they are hoping he looks after their needs when he speaks about the future of mining. I suspect other candidates will.
