Political analysts will undoubtedly remind us that details of the Liberal government’s provincial Budget delivered on March 29 will be repeated many times over leading up to the Ontario election on October 6. The Budget contains specifics about protecting health care and education, jobs and growth and promises to make the delivery of public services more efficient.
But where does mining fit into the government’s plans? It might not be obvious from a cursory reading of Budget documents. There are no references to mining in either Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s Budget speech itself, titled “Turning the corner to a better tomorrow,” or the press release and its supporting background papers. However, if you delve into the 300-page book on “Budget Papers,” you will be able to piece together some clues.
In the chapter “Key Ontario Sectors,” two pages are dedicated to Mining and Opportunities in Ontario’s Ring of Fire. “Mining, a traditionally strong part of the Ontario economy, is benefiting from growing world demand for commodities and from tax relief provided through Ontario’s tax plan for jobs and growth,” said the document. “The government is supporting the development of new mineral deposits in the North and Far North, including helping promising mining opportunities in the Ring of Fire area of the Far North with potentially large deposits of minerals such as chromite, nickel, copper and platinum.”