EDITORIAL PAGE (October 21, 1991)

Canada’s premier association of mining professionals — the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) — is facing a cash crunch and unless steps are taken to change the way it derives its funding, the entire organization may suffer for years to come.

For 94 years the CIM has played a major role in creating and maintaining an atmosphere conducive to the free flow of information essential in an industry that has undergone dramatic changes over the past century. The Northern Miner is a strong believer that open and easy access to information is a fundamental condition for a healthy industry and has long supported the CIM’s dynamic role.

The temptation to hoard knowledge is strong, but the CIM has fought against that temptation with a tradition of exchanging information. That tradition has been instrumental in nurturing an industry that is vigorous, exciting and open to change. It is one reason why the Canadian mining industry is a world leader and why high-quality people have happily devoted their careers to it. But any professional association the size of the CIM can only operate if it has a sophisticated means of raising money. Over the years, the national body of the CIM has relied on two major sources of funding — membership dues and advertising revenue from its monthly publication the CIM Bulletin. Like other publishers, the CIM has suffered a dramatic drop in advertising revenue, down about one-third during the current recession. Normally the CIM would be able to suffer through this business cycle as it has in the past, relying on membership revenue to pick up the slack. This time, however, the downturn has been so severe that membership dues have not been able to carry the load.

It’s not that membership is weak. On the contrary, says President William Stanley, for the first time in 10 years membership is up, a net gain of 900 new members in 1991. That’s remarkable growth during a time when everyone is pinching pennies to make ends meet. It is also an indication of how fundamentally healthy the CIM is. The national CIM has a current membership of about 12,000, but there are another 8,000-10,000 members of local branches who are not members of the national body.

With 20,000 members, you would think the CIM has it made. What has failed the organization, however, is its unique division of powers between local branches and head office. There is no requirement to join the national body, nor is there any levy by the national body on the local branches. The autonomy of the local branches is one of the CIM’s greatest assets, but it is a double-edged sword. The national body’s inability to benefit from the branches’ prosperity is proving to be a difficult problem. While local branches are thriving, the national organization is starving. Now the national body is asking branches for a onetime contribution — 10% of their cash reserves — to help it over the financial hump, a request that Stanley says has met with tremendous support.

We’re sure it has, because we believe every mining professional in Canada wants to see the CIM continue its strong efforts on behalf of the industry. Nevertheless, this proposal is only a stop-gap measure, a Band-Aid solution to a problem that will soon have to be addressed more fully. Otherwise, the institute is in danger of having to cut back on the services it provides. With such a broadly based membership, it is time the CIM consider a means of assessing the local branches on a regular basis rather than having to make special requests for more substantial amounts during difficult times when everyone finds it hard to contribute.