Good evening everyone. I hope you enjoyed the tour of the Windsor Salt Mine and your round at the Canadian Salt Golf Challenge. Mining and golf, now there’s a tourism package in the making!

The mining industry is very important to Ontario’s prosperity.  Our province is a major global player in mining and has produced $300 billion in metals over the last century. In 2007 alone, the value of mineral production in Ontario exceeded $10-billion.

Exploration spending this year is expected to exceed $600-million.  Over 1,000 companies employ more than 22,000 skilled people in this province.  Hundreds of Ontario companies supply the industry with everything from contract mining services to custom equipment design.

The expertise supplied by people in the Ontario mining industry supports economic growth across the province, throughout Canada and around the world.

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Sandra Pupatello was elected to the Ontario legislature in 1995, and re-elected in 1999, 2003 and 2007. Pupatello has served as Minister of Economic Development and Trade since 2006. She previously served as Minister of Education, Minister of Community and Social Services and Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues.

Under Pupatello’s leadership in education, school infrastructure improved thanks to major renovations across the province, and high school students started to customize their education with new Specialist High Skills Majors. As Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Pupatello built on the government’s success attracting high-value jobs, bringing new investments to the province and developing new opportunities for Ontario workers.

Pupatello has a distinguished record of service to her community and the province and has made significant strides to improve the lives of Ontario’s most vulnerable. She has deep roots in the Windsor community. She was named honorary member of the Rotary Club of Windsor and a Paul Harris Fellow. In 1996, she was named Italian of the Year in Windsor-Essex County. In 2001, the University of Windsor honoured her with the prestigious Charlie Clark Award for Outstanding Service.

In March 2003, Pupatello was named “Windsor Woman of the Year.” In 2007, she received the prestigious Athena Award for the Windsor area, which recognizes men and women who provide a positive role model to encourage women to achieve their leadership potential in business.