Letter to the Editor

I’ve been following the opinions of Mr. Doug Clovechok and Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald on the state of mining in B.C. and as B.C.’s mines minister, I wanted to provide accurate information to those who want the facts.

Mr. Macdonald seems to have an aversion to the facts, given his comment that the BC Liberal government has done a “poor” job with mining.

When the BC Liberals were first elected in 2001, B.C. had $25 million worth of mineral exploration and comprised six per cent of Canada’s exploration investment. By 2012, B.C. had over a billion dollars in exploration over two exploration seasons and our exploration comprised 20% of Canadian investment. Last year (2015) was a tough year with $272 million invested in exploration but we’re still number two in Canada and still comprise 20% of Canadian exploration investment. As for operating mines, since 2011, six new mines have opened, but one of these has closed, leaving five. We also have two new mines being constructed right now, which is a total of seven new mines since 2011. No other Canadian jurisdiction can point to such an accomplishment.

When Norm Macdonald’s NDP was in government, for every mine that opened, two closed. There were a few thousand people living off the mining industry in those sad days. Today, 30,000 British Columbians are sustained by mining and even with extremely low commodity prices, B.C. continues to be one of the most popular places on earth for mining investment. The NDP chased mining out of the province and if they ever formed government, they would do it again. Don’t take my word for it. Ask any British Columbian who was involved with mining in the 1990s. Anyone who wants the actual statistics, please contact my office. That includes you too, Norm.

Bill Bennett,

MLA, Kootenay East and Minister of Energy and Mines

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