Media - 2017 Archives
Protected areas plan prevents dialogue, innovative thinking
Published: November 25, 2017
Source: Cape Breton Post
In a recent Cape Breton Post article, Rod Googoo, Chief of Waycobah First Nation, raised concerns about the possibility of a quarry being established on Kelly's Mountain in Victoria County.
We appreciate Chief Googoo's concerns and welcome his contribution to a public dialogue that the Mining Association of Nova Scotia recently started by suggesting the provincial government's Parks and Protected Areas Plan should strike a better balance between protecting land and protecting jobs.
We also appreciate comments by Senator Dan Christmas who highlighted Cape Breton's significant economic challenges in a recent speech.
Both these highly-respected Mi'kmaq leaders are raising important considerations related to striking the right balance between social concerns and achieving our shared economic goals. This is the sort of dialogue MANS wanted to start because we are concerned that the protected areas plan is unnecessarily harming the province's economy, and even preventing potential improvements to protected areas.
MANS is asking the provincial government to strike a better balance between protecting jobs and protecting land by adding a "land swap" mechanism to the protected lands regulatory regime. This would allow mining and quarrying companies to access protected land by purchasing land of at least equal size and ecological value outside of the protected areas and arranging for it to be protected instead. This would ensure that the total amount of protected land remains the same or grows; the ecological value of protected lands remains the same or grows; and Nova Scotians would continue to be able to access the minerals they need to create jobs and grow the economy.
Kelly's Mountain is a case in point. It contains a deposit of over 2 billion tons of aggregate, which could create approximately 80 direct jobs for a half century if a quarry were allowed to operate there. That is a tremendous economic opportunity for Cape Breton and the province.
However, because the deposit is completely overlapped by protected land, we cannot have a dialogue about whether the quarry should be allowed to proceed; whether Mi'kmaq concerns could be accommodated through research, discussion and compromise; or indeed, whether the land should simply remain protected.
Who knows? Maybe the quarry could have been developed through a partnership between a mining company and the Mi'kmaq, which would have resulted in shared economic benefits and the utmost sensitivity to Mi'kmaq sites.
Unfortunately, the protected areas plan prevents that sort of dialogue and innovative thinking because it is completely inflexible - once land is protected it must remain protected forever, regardless of all other considerations.
The size of the Kelly's Mountain quarry would have been less than 1 per cent of the mountain's total area (see attached map). It is over three kilometres from the Fairy Hole sea cave that is, legitimately, an important site for the Mi'kmaq. However, three kilometres is well beyond any potential zone of impact from quarry activities. The original design for the quarry deliberately kept operations within the mountain so they would be hidden from outside view. While Kelly's Mountain already has development on it, such as homes and roads, there are no neighbours or anyone near the quarry site who would be disturbed by it. Again, the quarry would have created 80 jobs for approximately 50 years.
We believe the Kelly's Mountain aggregate deposit could have been developed with full accommodation of Mi'kmaq concerns such that it could have been a win-win for everyone. However, until the protected areas plan allows for that sort of dialogue to take place, this tremendous economic opportunity and many others will be impossible to pursue or even meaningfully discuss.
Sean Kirby is Executive Director of the Mining Association of Nova Scotia
Is protected spaces plan impacting Cumberland County's economy?
Mining association wants access to Pugwash Estuary
DARRELL COLE AMHERST NEWS
Published: November 21, 2017
Source: Amherst News and the Chronicle Herald
The Mining Association of Nova Scotia contends the province’s protected spaces plan is harming Cumberland County’s economy.
The association is suggesting that by swapping land that it can support the economy while protecting important natural spaces.
“While the mining and quarrying industry supports protecting natural lands for future generations, we also believe the plan needs to strike a better balance between protecting land and protecting jobs,” the association’s executive director Sean Kirby said. “The lands chosen for protection by the previous government disproportionately harm certain rural areas of the province, such as Cumberland. We respectfully suggest that only a flawed process could result in those areas being forced to bear so much of the plan’s economic cost.”
The mining association recently released a report detailing how the plan harms dozens of potential mineral projects and makes it harder for the industry to create new jobs for Nova Scotians. Its report suggests Cumberland County contains 7.1 per cent of the total amount of protected land in Nova Scotia - more than seven times as much as some other counties.
The county contains a total of 51 overlaps between protected areas and known mineral occurrences. The mining association contends these overlaps make it harder, or outright prevent, exploration and development of all that potential wealth.
Some other counties contain far fewer, or even zero overlaps.
One of the overlaps is the Canfield Creek copper deposit, approximately five kilometres south of Pugwash. Problem is the copper deposit is adjacent to, and runs into, the Pugwash Estuary - a protected area.
This makes the protected part of the deposit inaccessible and reduces the deposit’s potential value. It also makes it harder to attract investment to the project because of uncertainty about whether it would be possible to get permits to operate a mine close to, but outside, a protected area.
Several nearby mineral deposits are also overlapped by protected land, including deposits of gypsum, iron and a historical copper mine.
The mining association is proposing the use of a land swap mechanism to swap out a small amount of protected land in exchange for land of at least equal size and ecological value outside the protected area. This would improve the business case for the Canfield Creek deposit.
Kirby said this would ensure that the total amount of protected land remains the same or grows; the ecological value of protected lands remains the same or grows; and Nova Scotians would continue to be able to access the minerals they need to create jobs and grow the economy.
Cumberland North Conservative MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin believes there is a way to protect space while allowing for the extraction of minerals in a responsible manner.
“We need to aggressively grow our economy here in Cumberland North,” Smith-McCrossin said in an emailed statement. “We need to look at all opportunities including responsible mineral extraction and development of our natural resources. There are some exciting opportunities here in Cumberland County. We need to ensure there is a balance between protecting the land where necessary and allowing economic development with responsible environmental standards.”
Writer and naturalist Harry Thurston does not agree.
“Mr. Kirby is being deliberately misleading in making this proposal,” said Thurston, who is a member the Cumberland Wilderness that’s working to protect land on the Isthmus of Chignecto. “You can’t mix and match this land that has been protected for other areas that are supposedly of equal ecological value. The fact of the matter is there was a rigorous scientific process that identified the land that needed to be protected. It has no basis in science.
Thurston said the land protection process has been ongoing for more than 20 years through a series of governments of all political stripes and is supported by a solid majority of Nova Scotians.
“There is no merit to what they’re proposing,” Thurston said. “This is an attempted end run and I don’t think government is going to give it any real consideration at all.”
Chrissy Matheson, a media relations advisor with the province, said protected areas are a response to biodiversity loss caused by human activities and are being recognized globaly for their role in protecting nature.
“The integrity of our protected areas depends on their long-term protection, with biodiversity conservation at the forefront,” she said in an emailed statement to the Amherst News. “This effort is undertaken with many partners, as is evident in the protected lands highlighted by MANS near Pugwash that are conserved by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.”
Matheson said the province understands the concerns raised by the mining association regarding the potential impacts of protected areas on the mineral industry.
“Through the parks and protected areas planning process we have taken significant steps to avoid adversely impacting mineral interests,” she said. “Benefitting from consultations with industry, MANS, and others, more than 96 per cent of mineral rights were avoided when identifying new protected areas, and of those areas overlapped by protection proposals, the majority were identified in a unique category so that they would only be protected if mineral rights expire. Land-swap proposals are not being considered by government at this time.
Time to Revisit Approach to Protected Lands
Published: November 15, 2017
Source: Guysborough Journal
By: Warden Vernon Pitts on behalf of the Guysborough Municipal Council
Recently, the Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS) proposed changes to the Province of Nova Scotia’s Parks and Protected Areas Plan.
The Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) expressed concern with the approach of the Nova Scotia Government when the Protected Area targets were set in 2009. The approach taken to meet these targets have done little to assuage these concerns.
One of the key responsibilities of any Municipal government is related to land-use planning. We are one of the very few Nova Scotia municipalities that have completed a comprehensive Land Use Strategy, achieved through broad consultation with our residents. Intuitively, one would think there would be some linkage to the selection of areas identified for protection. Ironically, one of the areas originally proposed for protection was within the 14,500 acre Melford Industrial Land Reserve – owned by the Province of Nova Scotia!
Economic life in Nova Scotia’s rural municipalities is particularly challenging. We are experiencing, generally, outward migration, which makes it increasingly difficult to both finance and sustain the services expected by citizens of a modern society. This consideration was seemingly lost upon the architects of the Provincial Strategy.
In the rush to meet artificially established targets we have, seemingly pursued the “low-hanging fruit” – that is those areas that avoid public conflict or comment.
It was interesting to read recent comments from Government officials touting the process utilized to identify the most prospective areas for protection – “environment, ecological values of the protected areas, biodiversity values, recreation, wildlife, social aspects, natural resources planning, and the potential for economic development”.
If we were to look at these goals individually we have clearly missed the mark and continue marching forward based on the same flawed process.
Among protected areas within MODG there is little diversity of landscapes; recreational usage has been negatively impacted; traditional community / social aspects have suffered and most glaringly there has never been an economic development potential assessment of any of the properties protected, or proposed for protection.
In fact, the only visible assessment of economic impact is the avoidance of protecting lands with standing timber. Our Council has proposed areas of old-growth forest for protection to no avail. We understand the importance of the forest industry in Nova Scotia and also the commitment of the Provinces wood fiber from Crown Land. This commitment has seemingly had a significant impact on areas proposed for protection. Barren coastal areas do not tend to support forest growth.
The MODG strives to achieve a balance between environmental stewardship and economic growth. We were the first municipality in Canada to take a majority ownership stake in a windfarm – producing green energy for Nova Scotian’s. We have won Provincial and National awards for our stewardship.
Our residents – the people that actually live in our communities, are our greatest stewards of the environment. Their voices are not being heard. NGO’s and special interest groups seem to have much greater influence on the direction of government policy.
The MANS Proposal (A Better Balance – How Can We Protect Jobs and Land?) provides an opportunity to reset our priorities. No one is suggesting that highly sensitive or unique lands be opened up for mineral exploration or development. What is proposed, is that lands of equal or greater value be “swapped” for lands currently protected. This creates a net-gain or win-win situation for everyone.
We are fortunate to live in a beautiful part of Nova Scotia. We have vast, open landscapes that are simply stunning. Historically, our economy was built on the resource sector – forestry, fishery and mining. Declines in all of these sectors has resulted in dramatic population decline.
Mineral exploration and development offers a significant opportunity to address the population decline through its root-cause – employment.
It is for these reasons that the MODG stands with the MANS in its call for the Province of Nova Scotia to revisit it’s policy related to Parks and Protected Lands and strike a balance between land protection and the elimination of economic opportunities in rural Nova Scotia. The MANS proposal offers an opportunity to do just that!
A Better Balance Needed
Published: November15, 2017
Source: Guysborough Journal editorial
Valid concerns have been raised over the Nova Scotia government’s Parks and Protected Areas Plan.
In an opinion piece that appeared in the Guysborough Journal earlier this month, the Mining Association of Nova Scotia’s Executive Director Sean Kirby noted that the plan, as constituted, could cost upwards of 350 jobs lost in the province by preventing mineral exploration and development in protected areas. That could include $16 million to $19 million in lost wages per year and $27 million to $29 million annually in lost economic development. This could have a pronounced effect in Guysborough County where no less than eight protected areas overlap with areas of known mineral occurrences, according to the Mining Association.
A solution offered by the Mining Association would be a land swap mechanism. Under this scenario, mining and quarrying companies could access protected lands by, “purchasing land of at least equal size and ecological value outside protected areas added to the Plan which would allow companies to be purchased at equal size and ecological value outside protected areas and arrange for it to be protected instead.” These swaps would be done on a case-by-case basis and would be fully regulated, according to the Mining Association.
On Monday, the Municipality of the District of weighed in on the issue. Noting that MODG is one of the very few municipalities to have completed a comprehensive land use strategy, the municipality is at a loss as to how those designing the program would not include factors around economic development challenges that face rural communities. As MODG noted in its release, “the MODG thrives to achieve balance between environmental stewardship and economic growth.”
Indeed MODG has invested in a wind farm near Canso and has consulted regularly with residents regarding economic development projects. After all who are better caretakers of the environment in MODG for now and for future generations than its residents?
MODG supports the Mining Associations plan to ensure environment is protected while carefully allowing economic development in protected areas.
We agree with that view.
Protecting our beautiful lands in Guysborough County is of immense value to all of us. We think the province should have another look at its Parks and Protected Lands Plan with an eye to a more balanced approach. We often hear governments these days talk about how the environment and the economy can exist simultaneously. Adjusting the Plan to provide balance and reflect the interests of rural communities such as those in Guysborough County would be a good way to show they mean what they say.
Mining Association suggests land swap option
Association campaign gets mixed reviews
Published: November 4, 2017
Source: Chronicle Herald
By: Aaron Beswick
A campaign by the Mining Association of Nova Scotia to loosen protections on the province's wilderness areas is getting mixed reviews.
After releasing a 67-page report nine months ago on the economic consequences of blocking exploration and mining activity on the 13 per cent of this province's land mass that the government is on track to prevent, the association has begun sending letters to county councils and newspapers outlining their findings.
"We are doing our best to work with the (protected areas) plan," said Sean Kirby, executive director of the mining association.
"We support its ecological goals and we are just advocating for small changes that would allow for economic development as well."
The association is calling for the province to change the act that currently prohibits any mineral exploration or development on wilderness areas.
The proposed changes would allow, on a case-by-case basis, the government to determine whether a mining company could purchase land outside a protected area of equal or greater size in ecological significance to one it wants to swap inside a protected area.
The report claims that by preventing mineral exploration and mining development on lands already protected, the province is missing out on $22 million a year in economic activity.
"Former mines, quarries and pits have great potential value and are often low-hanging fruit for the modern industry," reads the report, which highlights 52 former mines, quarries and aggregate pits currently located inside protected areas.
Not everyone is keen on the proposal.
Forest ecologist Brenda Crossland said Friday that the point of having permanent protected areas is to allow them to return to a natural state.
"There are components of the forest that take centuries to develop so we need long-term protection," said Crossland.
"We can't be playing musical chairs and just swapping protected areas in and out of a landscape."
Disturbed Acadian forest, she said, takes centuries to recover.
The vast majority of the province has been at some point clear cut or cleared for farmland. Even much of the areas now protected, said Crossland, are still recovering from past disturbances.
That means that over centuries, longer-lived species of trees like maple, pine, red spruce and oak, take hold and grow to maturity - providing habitat for wildlife as they become old-growth forests.
Protected areas are spread across the province disproportionately - with more lands protected in counties with lower population densities.
Fifteen per cent of Victoria County in northern Cape Breton is protected by the province and, when combined with the portion protected federally by Parks Canada, a total of 38 per cent of the county is off-limits to development.
"That's enough," said Bruce Morrison, county warden.
Victoria County council is currently considering a letter received from the mining association and deciding whether to support their proposal.
Morrison said that "in theory" he likes the mining association's proposal.
Meanwhile, the Municipality of the District of Guysborough is having the same discussion.
"We're supporting the Mining association," said Warden Vernon Pitts on Friday.
"There hasn't been a mechanism in place whereby a company or a municipality could swap out land."
Pitts said that Guysborough is on track to have 18 per cent of its land mass become a protected area and that while the municipality supports the environmental goal of the program it also has to care for the economic needs of its citizens.
Despite the report having been released nine months ago, the provincial government has made no moves to publicly acknowledge or support its suggestions.
Kirby said that with negotiations at a standstill the association began to approach county councils and newspapers directly.
For his part, Raymond Plourde said the association's proposal is a political and environmental bomb.
"The province is not going to touch this with a 10-foot pole," said Plourde, wilderness co-ordinator for the Ecology Action Centre.
"It would require them to to open up the whole Wilderness Protection Act and substantially weaken it. The blowback would be huge. The entire purpose of the act is to protect important natural areas from this sort of development."
COUNTERPOINT: Antiquated view of mining
Published: November 4, 2017
Source: Chronicle Herald
Re: "Driven to extraction," (Oct. 28 opinion piece by Joan Baxter).
One of the biggest challenges the mining and quarrying industry faces is outdated perceptions about it, such as those found in this article.
No one would judge today's auto industry by its safety and environmental standards of the 1950s, yet people do sometimes judge mining by what it was like in the distant past. The reality is today's mining industry is a sophisticated, high-tech business that is vital to our economy and way of life.
We set the highest standards for environmental management. After all, mining companies are made up of people who care as much about the environment as anyone else and who also want to leave a better world for their children.
Reclaimed mines and quarries are now beautiful natural spaces, such as at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, Acadia Park in Westville and Kiwanis Park in Truro. Reclaimed sites are also used for other purposes such as the Cabot Links golf course in Inverness, the Pioneer Coal Athletics Field in Stellarton and the Dartmouth Crossing shopping centre.
Our educational website - www.NotYourGrandfathersMining.ca - explains in layman's terms how the industry works today and how it is stringently regulated by the provincial government to ensure the environment is properly protected.
Everything Nova Scotians want - from excellent health and education systems to opportunities for our kids to stay home instead of moving away - ultimately depends on creating jobs and growing our economy. Our industry employs 5,500 Nova Scotians and generates $420 million per year in economic activity.
Ms. Baxter took particular issue with mining coal and gold, but consider this: Three major new mines are opening here in 2017 - one for coal and two for gold. They represent hundreds of new jobs for Nova Scotians and hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment in the province. The average wage in our industry is $55,000 per year, the highest of any resource industry and on par with the province's financial services sector. These are excellent jobs, mostly in the rural areas that are in such need of economic opportunity.
We also need the materials we take from the ground to support our modern society. For example, coal is an essential fuel in Nova Scotia, and in most jurisdictions around the world. It generates over half of Nova Scotia's electricity and it is helping keep our electricity rates from rising further. While Nova Scotia's use of coal is declining, the electricity it provides cannot be replaced easily or quickly by any other source. Coal is also used in manufacturing products such as steel and cement.
Gold has a wide range of uses, including in virtually all electronics. Just imagine a world without computers, cell phones and electronic medical equipment. Gold also has other medical applications, including in diagnostic procedures and treating certain cancers.
Mining and quarrying is an environmentally responsible industry that provides essential materials to society. It is not your grandfather's mining industry.
A Better Balance: Protect Jobs and Land
Published: October 30, 2017
Source: Cape Breton Post
Letter to the Editor
The Mining Association of Nova Scotia has just released a new report about the provincial government’s Parks and Protected Areas Plan, which highlights, among other things, how the Plan is harming the industry in Cape Breton.
Based on a plan established by the previous provincial government, Nova Scotia has already protected over 12 per cent of the province’s land mass and the government intends to bring the total to 13 percent. This would put Nova Scotia in second place nationwide in removing land from economic usage, despite being the second smallest province and a province with some of the biggest economic and demographic challenges.
Our report shows that the plan is potentially costing Nova Scotians 291 to 356 jobs by preventing mineral exploration and development in protected areas. That is $16 million to $19.6 million per year in lost wages and $22 million to $27 million in foregone economic activity each year. The full report, entitled “A Better Balance: How we can protect jobs and land for Nova Scotians,” is available online at: http://tmans.ca/protected-lands.
Cape Breton’s economy is arguably harmed more by the plan than any other area of the province. Cape Breton contains 30 percent of the total amount of protected land in Nova Scotia, even though it only contains 19 percent of the province’s land mass. That is a higher percentage of protected land than any other region.
Inverness County contains more than 11 times the percentage of protected land as some other counties, such as Pictou, Kings and Antigonish. Victoria County contains 15 times the percentage of protected land as some other counties. In fact, Victoria has five times as much protected land as Pictou, Kings and Antigonish combined.
Also, Cape Breton has 154 known mineral occurrences that are overlapped by protected land, far more than any other region. These overlaps make it harder, or outright prevent, exploration and development of all that potential wealth on the island.
The Mining Association of Nova Scotia proposes a modest policy change that would strike a better balance between protecting both natural lands and economic opportunity.
A “land swap” mechanism should be added to the protected lands regulatory regime. This would allow mining and quarrying companies to access protected land by purchasing land of at least equal size and ecological value outside of the protected areas and arranging for it to be protected instead. This would ensure that the total amount of protected land remains the same or grows; the ecological value of protected lands remains the same or grows; and Nova Scotians would continue to be able to access the minerals they need to create jobs and grow the economy.
Proposed land swaps would be fully regulated by the provincial government, on a case-by-case basis, to ensure there is a net benefit to the province. The government could even require that the land being swapped in by the company be larger and/or more ecologically valuable than the protected land being swapped out. This creates the potential to not only maintain but also improve the government’s portfolio of protected lands, creating a win-win for both the economy and the environment.
While the mining and quarrying industry supports protecting natural lands for future generations, we also believe the plan needs to strike a better balance between protecting land and protecting jobs. Beautiful, natural lands are important, but so are job creation, economic opportunity and government revenues to pay for programs such as health and education.
We need a better balance.
Sean Kirby
Executive director,
Mining Association of Nova Scotia
A Better Balance: Protect Jobs and Land
Published: October 28, 2017
Source: Chronicle Herald
While Nova Scotia’s mining and quarrying industry supports protecting natural lands for future generations, we also believe the provincial government’s Parks and Protected Areas Plan (the Plan) needs to strike a better balance between protecting land and protecting jobs. Beautiful, natural lands are important, but so are job creation, economic opportunity and government revenues to pay for programs such as health and education.
Based on a plan established by the previous provincial government, Nova Scotia has already protected over 12 percent of the province’s land mass and the government intends to bring the total to 13 percent. This would put Nova Scotia in second place nationwide in removing land from economic usage, despite being the second smallest province and a province with some of the biggest economic and demographic challenges.
The Mining Association of Nova Scotia has just released a new report which shows that the Plan is potentially costing Nova Scotians 291-356 jobs by preventing mineral exploration and development in protected areas. That is $16-$19.6 million per year in lost wages and $22-$27 million in foregone economic activity each year. The full report, entitled “A Better Balance: How we can protect jobs and land for Nova Scotians,” is available at: tmans.ca/protected-lands.
The Plan disproportionately harms some parts of the province. For example, Cape Breton contains 30 percent of the total amount of protected land in Nova Scotia, even though it only contains 19 percent of the province’s land mass. Also, Cape Breton has 154 known mineral occurrences that are overlapped by protected land, which makes it harder, or outright prevents, exploration and development of all that potential wealth.
Cumberland County has 51 overlaps between known mineral occurrences and protected land; Colchester has 43 overlaps; and Halifax County has 23. Across the province, 5.5 percent of all known mineral occurrences are overlapped.
Mining and quarrying is a large and important industry in Nova Scotia – it employs 5500 people and generates $420 million per year in economic activity. However, it also faces significant challenges, including the loss of over 800 jobs since 2008 and the highest tax/royalty burden of any mining industry in the country.
The Plan is adding to the industry’s challenges by shrinking the amount of land available for exploration and development. This reduces our ability to find and develop new deposits; to create new jobs for Nova Scotians; and to contribute more to government revenues.
Everything Nova Scotians want – from excellent health and education systems to opportunities for our kids to stay home instead of moving away – ultimately depends on creating jobs.
The Mining Association of Nova Scotia proposes a modest policy change that would strike a better balance between protecting both natural lands and economic opportunity.
A “land swap” mechanism should be added to the protected lands regulatory regime. This would allow mining and quarrying companies to access protected land by purchasing land of at least equal size and ecological value outside of the protected areas and arranging for it to be protected instead. This would ensure that the total amount of protected land remains the same or grows; the ecological value of protected lands remains the same or grows; and Nova Scotians would continue to be able to access the minerals they need to create jobs and grow the economy.
Proposed land swaps would be fully regulated by the provincial government, on a case-by-case basis, to ensure there is a net benefit to the province. The government could even require that the land being swapped in by the company be larger and/or more ecologically valuable than the protected land being swapped out. This creates the potential to not only maintain but improve the government’s portfolio of protected lands, creating a win-win for both the economy and the environment.
The provincial government’s support of our industry has contributed to a banner year for mining in Nova Scotia. Three major new mines are opening in 2017, representing hundreds of new jobs for Nova Scotians and hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment in the province. A little flexibility in the Plan would help us find more new mines and create more jobs for Nova Scotians.
While we all appreciate the importance and beauty of natural lands, and everyone wants to protect the environment, we also need to protect jobs and opportunity. We need a better balance.
Progress being made in rural industries
Published: July 25, 2017
Source: Chronicle Herald
It has been almost three and a half years since the Ivany Commission issued its "Now or Never" report about building the province's new economy. As part of assessing what's been done in response, I am writing to offer a case study of how its recommendations have been implemented by the provincial government to help the province's mining and quarrying industry grow and create jobs for Nova Scotians.
The Commission said traditional rural industries, like mining and quarrying, "will provide the essential foundations for Nova Scotia's rural economy...The basic viability of many of our rural communities hinges on whether these sectors can create more and better jobs and generate more wealth."
The Commission also highlighted that the government could do more to support the mining industry by providing "a modern and responsive legislative framework to support and promote sustainable mineral resource management." The government followed through on that recommendation by overhauling the province's outdated Mineral Resources Act - the first comprehensive review of the Act in a quarter-century. The resulting legislation, which was passed in 2016, struck the right balance between cutting red tape and supporting job creation, while also holding the industry to the highest standards in public consultation and reclamation.
The government has made several other policy decisions that are also very important for the industry.
The pre-election budget proposed extending to mining and quarrying the same fuel tax rebate that other resource industries get. Provincial fuel tax is supposed to help pay for public roads and highways by charging the vehicle owners who use them. The government gives other resource industries a tax rebate for fuel used in vehicles that do not go on public roads, such as fishing boats, farm tractors and forestry harvesters. Our industry has been excluded from the rebate since the 1980s even though most of our vehicles stay on mine and quarry sites. We understand the government will again include this policy change in its upcoming budget, finally resolving this long-standing issue.
Despite the province's fiscal challenges, the government has continued its Mineral Incentive Program, which supports prospecting and exploration. If we don't do exploration today, we won't have mines tomorrow, so the government's ongoing support of this program is vital. The Liberals promised during the election campaign to build on the program's success by establishing a Mineral Resources Development Bank to increase prospecting, mineral-related research and educational opportunities for young people.
While each of these policy decisions is important in and of itself, combined they suggest an important change in the provincial government's attitude towards the industry. Instead of letting the Mineral Resources Act become ever-more burdensome and obsolete, the government took the initiative to modernize it. Instead of continuing to treat our industry unfairly compared to other resource industries, the government is adding us to the fuel tax rebate program. Instead of letting prospecting and exploration wither away during the economic downturn of recent years, the government is making strategic investments that will lead to more jobs and opportunity.
The government's support has contributed to a banner year for mining in Nova Scotia. Three major new mines are expected to open in 2017, representing hundreds of new jobs for Nova Scotians and hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment in the province. The success of these projects, including the return of gold mining to Nova Scotia, is generating world-wide interest in our mineral potential. This becomes a virtuous circle, in which opening a new mine leads to more exploration, which leads to opening more mines.
The provincial government's post-Ivany approach to our industry has focussed on making smart, strategic investments and policy decisions, and we are seeing the benefits. We are opening new mines, creating new jobs, and generating additional tax and royalty revenues to pay for programs like health and education. That is the sort of economic renewal that Ivany envisioned.
Sean Kirby is Executive Director of the Mining Association of Nova Scotia
