I must respond to the letter from Jake Epp (T.N.M., Nov. 30/92). The minister of Energy, Mines and Resources (EMR) implies that my article calling for his resignation was factually incorrect.
The quote attributed to the minister was made to me in person in his office in Ottawa, and I stand by it, both in wording and in context. As for the quotes used from EMR officials, all were taken verbatim from published articles.
More importantly, the minister implies that EMR has recognized the problem of dwindling ore reserves since 1987. The only major policy decision by his government post-1987 was cancellation of flow-through, hardly a move designed to increase discovery rates.
Since this decision, several effective mechanisms have been proposed by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) and others to provide an alternative to flow-through, such as simple changes to the capital gains tax rules, yet none has been introduced. To be blunt, the inaction fails to support the minister’s statements.
Lastly, the minister refers to the recent task force report and Whitehorse Initiative as evidence of progress. While I am encouraged by the initiative, even the most optimistic of souls must recognize that thus far this was merely another consultation layered on many other consultations. Given that this is an election year, a cynic might wonder whether we will be presented with a pre-election carrot.
This criticism is easy to refute — implement a significant policy change at the PDAC convention in March, 1993, when the Whitehorse Initiative steering committee reports. We’ve all had a long time to study the problem. Now it’s time to do something.
As the Ontario government has shown with the introduction of several positive new programs in the past eight months, governments can act quickly if they so choose.
If the minister takes up this challenge, I will be the first to offer an apology for my comments, and congratulate him and EMR on a job well done. Steve Parry
South Porcupine, Ont.
Be the first to comment on "LETTERS TO THE EDITOR — Challenging Jake Epp to devise new"