Steve Ashton was first elected to the Manitoba Legislature in 1981 for the New Democrat Party (NDP). He was re-elected in the general elections of 1986, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007. In October 2009, he was appointed as Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, Minister Responsible for Emergency Measures and Minister Responsible for the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation. His daughter, Niki Ashton, is also a politician and is the New Democratic Party MP for the riding of Churchill.

Vale’s announcement that they are eliminating the surface operation here in Thompson is unacceptable.

Since the 1950′s Thompson has had a fully integrated mining operation.  The development of the refinery and smelter were integral parts of the 1956 agreement that established Thompson.

In good times and in bad times our community and our province have always been there to work with Inco, now Vale. In the process we have developed one of the best mining, smelting and refining operations in the world.

Vale’s announced shut down of the surface operations in Thompson came without any discussion about solutions with key stakeholders or the provincial government. I have never seen a more arrogant and insensitive move.

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Standard Chartered PLC is a leading international bank, listed on the London, Hong Kong and Mumbai stock exchanges. It has operated for over 150 years in some of the world’s most dynamic markets and earns more than 90 per cent of its income and profits in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This geographic focus and commitment to developing deep relationships with clients and customers has driven the Bank’s growth in recent years. For more information, please visit: www.standardchartered.com

Download “The Super-cycle Report”

London, 15 November 2010: The world is in a sustained period of high economic growth, or super-cycle, which started in 2000 and is expected to last at least another couple of decades and see the global economy reach over USD 300trn in size by 2030, up from USD 62trn today, according to a special report by Standard Chartered. The world economy has already doubled between 2000 and 2010.

The developed economies will do well through the super-cycle, but the emerging markets will do much better. As a result, the global balance of economic power will shift decisively from the West to the East, according to the report.

The key drivers

The key drivers of the super-cycle will be increased trade, especially among emerging markets, rapid industrialisation, urbanisation and booming middle classes in the developing world. The number of people living in the cities will grow to 5bn in 2030, up from 3.4bn today.

Asia will drive most of the global growth over the next 20 years, during which global output is conservatively set to more than double in real terms, having already risen more than 50 per cent in the last decade. Living standards, as measured by real per capita income, will have increased nine-fold in China and India between 2000 and 2030. Read the rest of this entry »

RELEASE, 17 November, 2010

Vale’s latest “investment” announcement continues a public-relations campaign more concerned about image than providing net benefits to Canadian communities.

“Vale’s announcement today is perhaps the most cynical public relations exercise we have seen yet from this foreign corporation,” said Ken Neumann, the United Steelworkers union’s National Director for Canada.

“While it claims to meet its commitments under the Investment Canada Act, Vale decides to close the smelting and refining facilities in Thompson, Manitoba,” Neumann said.

“This closure will eliminate a crucial value-added component of Thomson’s mining operations, potentially killing more than 500 jobs and dealing a devastating blow to the community.

“This clearly demonstrates Vale’s lack of commitment to Manitoba. Rather than invest in its Thomson operations, Vale opts to cut 40 per cent of its workforce and wreak more havoc on Canadian working families.” Read the rest of this entry »

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper. Terence Corcoran’s editorial opinion was originally published on November 18, 2010.

This cannot be true. The Brazilian mining giant Vale announced $10-billion in new investment in Canada, building new facilities, opening new mines, pouring fresh capital into Sudbury. Where did this come from? For weeks now, the only thing Canadians knew of Vale is that the company was the despicable foreign investor that swooped in and took over Inco and pretty much made Canada look like a sucker.

In the context of BHP Billiton’s $40-billion plan to take over Potash Corp., the Vale takeover of Inco was routinely cited as the kind of soul-destroying foreign investment Canada should stop accepting. Look what they did in Sudbury, where Vale fought the unions, forced a prolonged shutdown, and left the local community devastated.

Or maybe not. Vale didn’t leave town, or Canada, and it now appears set to sink a lot of money into various projects across the country, including $3.4-billion into Sudbury’s century-old nickel and copper operations. The plan includes the first new Sudbury mine in more than 40 years.

The new money, spread across Canada, comes on top of $1.7-billion Vale says it has invested in various capital projects over the last three years — about 50% more than had been invested by the old Inco operation in the previous three years.

A company official also says Vale has exceeded whatever commitments it made to satisfy Investment Canada’s “net benefits” test when it bought Inco. The new $10-billion plan is above and beyond those old commitments, which are about to end. Vale, in other words, appears to be doing a better job at keeping Canadian mining alive than its predecessors. If that is an exaggeration, it is certainly true that Vale has emerged as a great boon to Canadian mining that is no less than would have been achieved under the old national champion known as Inco.

As the Conservatives try to soft-shoe out of their rejection of the BHP Billiton takeover of Potash, the Vale experience makes that decision look even more preposterous. The net benefits of Vale’s presence in Canada seem obvious, as are the net losses arising from the Potash decision.