LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (March 16, 1992)

I was born in a small wonderful community in northern Ontario, west of Sudbury in the town of Massey. My father owned a business started by his father in the late 1800s known as Sadowski & Co. General Store. Well respected in the community, my father grubstaked various prospectors such as Jack Wilson and Harry Preston.

My father never became rich but enjoyed the fruits of his friendships and respect that were never forgotten over the years. I guess this is where I got the bug to prospect. Not only did I prospect but also acquired a pilot’s licence and flew the bush for many years.

I am amazed to see the mining industry today taking a backseat without apparently uttering any objections to our politicians as to the future of the industry.

Where is our spokesman from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC)? Where are the mining people? The country was built on mining, guts, imagination, foresight and hard workers — where is everyone? I blame my own industry as much as the politicians for not bringing our magnificent natural resources industry into the 21st century. If the PDAC became more vocal, maybe, just maybe, we might see some genuine moves made to bring our resources industry up to where it should be as one of the top employers in the country.

Wake up, do something, stir the pot. Give the prospectors the tools to work with and dump the petty little do-gooders, yes-men, politicians and anyone else who cannot put aside his or her own greed and self-indulgence to bring our industry back and make it the envy of every other country in the world. John Sadowski

Toronto