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.

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

The success of the inaugural Ontario Mine Reclamation Symposium has cleared the path to make the workshop an annual event.  Close to 60 people representing a number of companies and organizations participated in this event, which was held in Kirkland Lake June 24 and 25.  This environmental event designed to share best practices and new technologies in mine reclamation was organized by the Ontario Mining Association in partnership with the Canadian Land Reclamation Association and Northgate Minerals. 

One of the highlights of the conference was the presentation of the inaugural Tom Peters Memorial Mine Reclamation Award, which was won by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines for its work on the Kam Kotia property in Timmins.   Though this honour was first presented at the OMA´s “Demographics, Global Markets and the Future Workforce” conference in Windsor, it was re-presented to Dick Cowan, who is retired from MNDM and who was heavily involved in mine rehabilitation in general and the Kam Kotia property in particular. 

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This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Renowned demographer David Foot, author of the best selling book Boom, Bust & Echo, provided miners with some guidance in building their workforces of the future.  He made a lengthy interactive presentation on “Profiting from the Demographic Shift in the 21st Century” at the Ontario Mining Association conference “Demographics, Global Markets and the Future Workforce” held in Windsor last week.  On the national level, mining is looking for an estimated 92,000 new employees over the next decade.

Mr. Foot, who is a professor of economics at the University of Toronto, is a demographer who has gained celebrity status.  He has changed the way people think about population trends.  His presentation helped the mineral audience better understand the impact change and population growth will have on their industry, their company and their organizations.  Read the rest of this entry »

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Four female employees from Hemlo Mines brought their unique perspective to a recent Ontario Mining Association conference session “How to make the mining workplace more feminine friendly.”

Aileen Pajunen, Employee Relations Superintendent; Geraldine Colbourne, a level-one production miner with 11 years experience working underground; Deborah Hanson, who has worked underground in the shaft and services area for 18 years; and, Allison Craig, a mining engineer currently working as an underground supervisor; all shared their work experiences, ambitions, frustrations, successes and long term goals with participants in the OMA “Demographics, Global Markets and Future Workforce” conference.

The panel session was preceded by OMA President Chris Hodgson and Ryan Montpellier, Executive Director of the Mining Industry Human Resource Council (MiHR). Hodgson reminded the group that, on the national level, mining is looking for an estimated 92,000 new employees over the next decade. Read the rest of this entry »

 The Ontario Mining Association represents companies for which environmental stewardship is a cornerstone value. Our members realize that their success depends largely on their ability to help establish healthy communities and sustainable environments in the areas where they operate.

The economic sustainability that mining engenders is often the first thing that comes to mind. Indeed, in northern Ontario in particular, there is little need to explain that mining operations play a vital role in the local economy and community life, often bringing in the investment that leads to the development of essential infrastructure and job creation. A recent University of Toronto study brought this home to a wider audience.

It concluded that the contribution of a single representative mine can have an impressive effect on employment and economic output, and that a large proportion of the benefits stay in the local area. Read the rest of this entry »

The mission of the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) is to support and improve the competitiveness of the mining sector in the province while representing companies engaged in the environmentally responsible exploration, production and processing of minerals in Ontario.

Established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province, the OMA has 57 member companies. These companies are engaged in mineral exploration, mining, smelting, refining and providing services to the mining industry. Most of the metal mines operate in Northern Ontario and produce nickel, copper, gold and a variety of other metals. The majority of non-metal mines (industrial minerals) operate in Southern Ontario and produce salt, nepheline syenite, calcite, gypsum, talc, silica, and other industrial minerals.

Chris Hodgson was appointed as the new President of the OMA in late October 2004. He joined the OMA following a distinguished career in provincial politics. He entered the Ontario Legislature following a by-election in 1994 and won general elections in 1995 and 1999, representing the riding of Haliburton-Victoria-Brock. While in government, Hodgson served in several cabinet positions including Northern Development and Mines, Natural Resources, Municipal Affairs and Housing and Chairman of Management Board. Previously, he was involved in municipal politics and real estate development.