COMMENTARY — Liberal promises not kept

The Explorationist newsletter of the Ontario Prospectors Association recently castigated our federal politicians for failing to support mining in the federal budget. In particular, the article “Paul Martin lied” laid out the facts.

The Liberals ran an election campaign in 1994 which focused on the party’s 22-point Mining Policy. The policy detailed a program of support based on stemming the decline in Canadian ore reserves. Based on this policy, northern members of Parliament asked for and received endorsements from groups such as Save Our North. Support for mineral exploration was further promoted by Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Deputy PM Sheila Copps and many northern Liberal candidates during their campaign tours.

Following the election, Martin challenged us to demonstrate why mineral exploration was a better deal for Canada than the existing billions of dollars in job-creation programs, with the promise to enact our proposal if we could make our case. A statement to this effect was made at the standing committee hearings in Ottawa, where Liberal, Reform and Bloc Quebecois members unanimously endorsed the exploration plan proposed by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC).

This support was derived in part from our proposal to reduce any exploration plan pro rata with reductions in the existing job-creation budget. In other words, we tied any plan directly to deficit reduction.

When the budget appeared, there was no plan. Geological Survey of Canada reductions of up to 50% were announced, including the closure of one of the critical offices in Vancouver. Mineral development agreements were canceled and the spectre of further increased mining taxation was raised. And what of the billions of dollars in job creation? Despite all the hoopla about deficit reduction, billions remain in the maze of programs with distinct regional biases based mainly on the political clout of local MPs. By these actions, Martin and the Liberals reneged on their commitments. Of the 22 points in the mining policy, none is complete as we approach the half-way point in the government’s mandate and there is little evidence of action.

To have credibility, the Liberals must stop talking and begin doing. If they do, we will be happy to eat a little humble pie and retract our comments in favor of a more positive response.

— The author is past chairman of the Save Our North campaign.