Mining issues dominate upcoming Yukon elections – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – September 23, 2011)

www.mineweb.com

Yukon New Democrats want to increase mining royalty rates to help pay for education, health and social programs. Yukon Liberals and the Yukon Party are against the proposal.

RENO, NV –  Mining royalties and other mining issues may define differences among the Yukon Territory’s political parties as voters go to the polls on October 11, the day after the Canadian Thanksgiving.

The Yukon economy is doing well thanks to record high mineral prices, resulting in a mining exploration boom, three new hardrock mines and nearly 100 placer mines.

This week Yukon New Democrats Party leader Liz Hanson announced the Yukon Resource Legacy Fund, which will be financed by “a reasonable increase in hard rock, placer gold, and other mineral and non-renewable resource royalties.” The amount of the increase would be determined through consultation with mining industry experts and economists, as well as the public to determine a fair rate of return.

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Forestry seen as key issue in Ontario election – Special to The Chronicle-Journal (September 23, 2011)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

The three sitting political parties at Queen’s Park are weighing in on a key election issue in Northwestern Ontario, the forestry sector.

In July, the Ontario Forest Industries Association, the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce, the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association and the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities developed a series of questions for the Liberals, NDP and Tories to answer on forestry policies.

The responses were released on Thursday.

“We’re very pleased that all three parties took the time and effort to respond,” said Scott Jackson, manager of forest policy with the Ontario Forest Industries Association. “It’s very clear that forestry is a key issue going into this election, and rightfully so.”

The questions addressed timber production, the Endangered Species Act, the caribou conservation plan, the Ontario Forest Tenure Modernization Act, road construction and maintenance, and electricity rates.

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The forest and the trees [Aboriginal social issues] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (September 22, 2011)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

IN MATTERS of public policy, it’s sometimes difficult getting to the heart of the matter. Large bureaucracies formed to address major issues often are unable to tackle them on a community level, let alone among individuals who “fall through the cracks” in the all-too-familiar phrase.

A variety of northern lifestyle issues currently challenges regional authorities: rampant drunkenness in Thunder Bay; painkiller addiction in Marten Falls and other First Nations; violence and abuse across the Far North; the unexplained deaths of seven aboriginal youth who came to Thunder Bay for schooling.

It would be difficult to catalogue the number of services, agencies and departments that are set up to address these very things. Federal, provincial and municipal governments and First Nation organizations spend billions of tax dollars to operate programs aimed at pressing social issues. Yet many of the issues are getting worse.

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Threatened [caribou] species – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – September 23, 2011)

Ron Grech is a reporter for The Daily Press, the city of Timmins newspaper. Contact the writer at  rgrech@thedailypress.ca

Local Liberal candidate stands by government’s commitment to caribou conservation

Mill closures and job losses will be the price for the province’s caribou conservation plan, says sawmill owner John Kapel.

It’s a major concern,” said Kapel, owner of Little John Enterprises in Timmins. “They’re going to be losing just in the Abitibi River Forest 65% reduction in some years which is a huge drastic volume. There will be mills closing, the way I see it. It’s a very serious issue.”

Two weeks ago, Northeastern mayors held a joint press conference in Timmins expressing alarm over a plan to reduce available harvestable land on the Abitibi River forest by 25% immediately and 65% after 20 years.

The Ontario Forest Industries Association has confirmed there are other forests similarly affected. The latest Kenogami forest management unit near Nipigon is looking at a 21% reduction in wood volumes. Lac-Seul forest management unit, located in the Sioux Lookout area in Northwestern Ontario, has a 22% reduction in amount of land available to access wood.

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Caribou and forestry can co-exist – by Avrim Lazar and Richard Brooks (Sudbury Star – September 23, 2011)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Avrim Lazar is president and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada and Richard Brooks is Forests Campaign Co-ordinator for Greenpeace.

As we move into the home stretch of the Ontario election race, it’s a good time to consider the health of our forests and the future of an industry that has fuelled Canada’s growth since the early days of European settlement.

Throughout Ontario, the forest industry and northern communities recently have been through tough times. Markets have changed, global competition has increased, mills have closed and many jobs have been lost.

Meanwhile, one of our most iconic wildlife species, Boreal woodland caribou, has been listed as a species at risk. Scientists are rapidly increasing their knowledge about caribou and the causes for the decline. These include habitat loss due to human settlement, industrial uses such as forestry and mining, predation and natural population cycles. There is a clear recognition that this problem should be addressed.

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NEWS RELEASE: MINING ASSOCIATION OF BC WELCOMES NEW “CANADA STARTS HERE: THE BC JOBS PLAN”

Thursday, 22 September 2011

Vancouver –The Mining Association of BC commends the provincial government’s Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan released today. 

Of particular importance to the BC mining sector, the BC jobs Plan proposes a commitment of almost $24 million to natural resource ministries with a goal of reducing the time it takes to get decisions on approvals and permits. The Premier emphasized that this plan could be implemented without compromising BC’s strict environmental standards.

The plan also promises that, in collaboration with the private sector, BC will see eight new mines in operation; nine upgrades and expansions to currently operating mines; and, mining permit backlog (Notices of Work) will be reduced by 80 percent within twelve months noting that once the backlog is dealt with, there will be a new sixty day turnaround to process Notices of Work for mines.

 “The mining industry is very encouraged to see government investing in its internal resources which allow private sector economic activity to occur,” said John McManus, Chair of the Mining Association of BC. 

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Why Premier McGuinty is Not in Thunder Bay Today for leadership debate – by Livio Di Matteo (September 23, 2011)

Livio Di Matteo is Professor of Economics at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Visit his new Economics Blog “Northern Economist” at http://ldimatte.shawwebspace.ca/

Today is the NOMA (Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association) provincial party leaders debate in Thunder Bay between Tim Hudak and Andrea Horwath.  Premier McGuinty has declined to attend.  The premier apparently has a previous engagement and furthermore probably believes that as the premier for all Ontario, debates should be held with the entire province rather than a single region as the stage.  The outrage in the North has been palpable but in simple cost-benefit terms, if I were the premier, I would have made the same decision.

I probably also would have added that the debate seemed exclusionary and elitist given that according to my last look it required a 95 dollar conference admission fee.  But then what do I know, I’m an economist, not a political advisor. By the way, the debate is being webcast on the NOMA site . Web Coverage is also available on Netnewsledger.com.

For Dalton McGuinty, coming to Northern Ontario for a regional debate is fraught with high costs and little in the way of benefits.  This is a region – that usually tends to vote Liberal or NDP anyway.  It generally is not an arena for rational and open debate with a reasonable chance that you can change someone’s mind, but a highly partisan political herd environment.  In some ridings, the tradition is to vote Liberal and when you want to punish the Liberals you vote NDP. 

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The south’s the target in battle for Northern Ontario – by Steve Ladurantaye (Globe and Mail – September 23, 2011)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

“There is a lack of regard by Mr. McGuinty for the people
and issues of Northern Ontario. I know our quality of life
could be so much better and our economic security could be
so much better with the right policies that reflect our
northern way of life.” (Progressive Conservative candidate
 Rod McKay – Kenora–Rainy River riding)
 

KENORA, ONT.— As the province’s political leaders plowed for votes in Southern Ontario, a more bare-knuckled version of democracy was breaking out in the North.

For the first time in 12 years, someone other than former NDP leader Howard Hampton will be sent to Queen’s Park to represent the sprawling 250,000-square-kilometre riding of Kenora–Rainy River. And the candidates are desperate to persuade voters they’ll find a way to bring jobs to a region that’s struggled to diversify from a forestry-based economy to one driven by both mining and tourism.

In a chalet-like conference room at a Super 8 motel, candidates argued fiercely over the fine details of northern development. But they agreed on one theme – the North and its wealth of natural resources are on the rise, and the south had best not stand in the way.

“There have been great ideas in the past,” said the Green Party’s Jo Jo Holiday, setting the tone in the opening minutes of the debate. “But they are Toronto people who think they know the North and think it goes no further than Sudbury. We are unique and we need to be treated as such.”

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Why Northern Ontario is important for both the leaders and the economy – by Steve Ladurantaye (Globe and Mail – September 23, 2011)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

For the web’s largest database of articles on the Ring of Fire mining camp, please go to: Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

KENORA, ONT.— The winding roads of Northern Ontario skirt around many of its most valuable assets – mines, forest plots and mills are largely hidden in the countryside and accessible only by dirt roads and trails.

But as the province struggles to pull itself back from economic ruin, those assets aren’t going to stay hidden for long. Residents considering the wealth of riches that wait to be extracted have a sinking suspicion that they will benefit the least from the region’s resource boom.

They are concerned the good jobs – those involving processing and research – will pass them by as Southern Ontario towns position themselves to take advantage of the North’s lack of infrastructure and comparatively low number of skilled trades people.

Once they would have been resigned to their fate – but that’s changing. As the province’s top politicians descend on Thunder Bay for a debate on Friday, all eyes are on the region and its possibilities. It’s a scene also playing out in resource-rich but job-poor communities across the country, particularly in the Northwest Territories and Alberta.

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