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QUEBEC — A widely-anticipated hike in mining royalties didn’t make it into the Parti Québécois government’s first budget because of time constraints, Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau said on Tuesday.
But he and other cabinet ministers are hammering out that royalty framework for natural resources development, Marceau told the National Assembly.
“We want to bring in these changes in an orderly and responsible manner to ensure the stability of the mining sector. We will consult the industry and the stakeholders concerned about this issue so that everyone benefits from the changes that will be made,” he said.
Earlier, Marceau told reporters that the new regime will be unveiled “sooner rather than later.” “In the time I had at my disposal (since the election), it wasn’t possible to arrive here today with a royalties regime,” he said.
During the election campaign, the PQ said it would introduce a five-per-cent royalty on all mining operations, increasing it to 30 per cent if the mine’s profits reached a certain level. Marceau said he remains convinced that an “obligatory royalty based on the net value and a tax based on excess profits are still viable approaches.”