Editorial How will Epp fare?

The latest cabinet shuffle by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney prompts the question. Out as minister of Energy, Mines & Resources is Marcel Masse; in is Jake Epp. What’s the difference?

Well, chances are there will be very little difference. Epp’s previous portfolio was Health and Welfare — perhaps an indication that Mulroney, who was himself the president of a mining company, thinks mining is either sick or in need of a handout. Whether or not that’s true, Epp holds considerable seniority in the cabinet and as such has the potential to be a strong voice for mining. But so did his predecessor, Marcel Masse. Masse’s leverage, however, was largely due to his role as Mulroney’s Quebec lieutenant, not as mines minister.

Since Mulroney’s first election, the mines ministers’ record has been spotty. Robert Layton was the first, filling a junior cabinet post as secretary of state for mining and answering to the minister of Energy, Mines & Resources. But he was virtually ineffective, involved in a campaign to revive the fortunes of asbestos, but little else. Eventually he was dropped from the cabinet.

Layton’s successor was Gerald Merrithew, again a junior minister. While Merrithew split his responsibilities between forestry and mining, he seemed to have a commitment to mining and understood the importance of flow-through funding to mineral exploration.

Merrithew was shifted to Veterans Affairs when the junior ministry for mining was done away with. It seemed that mining was about to be recognized for its true importance when Masse, then minister for Energy, Mines & Resources, took over full responsibility for mines. When the federal government abandoned the National Energy Program, Masse’s role in the energy field was sharply curtailed and so, it was felt, EMR would become more focussed on mining.

Masse was never a solid supporter of the mining industry although, to his credit, he was able to salvage an emasculated flow-through scheme in the face of budget cuts elsewhere in the government. But it was a hollow victory following the market collapse in late 1987 that drained interest from equity markets aimed at funding mineral exploration.

Now Masse is back in the Communications portfolio where his heart really is. And we have Jake Epp.

Will Epp make any difference? Well, resources fall under the jurisdiction of the provinces, so his effectiveness in helping or hindering the industry is limited. But a federal minister can have a significant impact on mining if only by asserting his influence on his cabinet colleagues.

How will a new and stronger environment minister deal with the mining industry? How will the minister of finance? What about John Crosbie as the minister of international trade? Or Pierre Cadieux as minister of Indian affairs and northern development? How mining fares in their bailiwicks depends largely on how committed Epp is to seeing the mining industry maintain its role as a prime engine of the national economy.

The future of mining in Canada is by no means secured. Reserves of all metals but gold are dwindling at an alarming rate and money for exploration to replenish those reserves is hard to find these days. If Canada is to strengthen its commitment to primary industries like mining, a strong voice at the cabinet table is necessary.

Perhaps Epp will be the man.

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