EDITORIAL PAGE — Understand the problems, then act to

British Columbia’s mines minister, Anne Edwards, had us worried.

For the past couple of years, the industry has complained loudly about its awful plight. Yet Mines Minister Edwards seemed not to hear. Our concerns over her hearing have been put to rest, however. Her ministry recently issued a discussion paper, the text of which proves she has been listening. We hope now that she can also act.

The paper lists the industry’s woes — the exodus to Latin America, unresolved land claims disputes, uncertain environmental standards, constantly shifting provincial mineral policy, etc. It even manages to sound alarmist, warning that “mining could virtually disappear in this province early in the 21st century.”

This is not Chicken Little stuff. The sky is falling. Mines are closing. In B.C., exploration spending is drying up. Mining will disappear as a significant contributor to provincial tax coffers if deposits such as — dare we mention it? — Windy Craggy are sacrificed on the altar of environmental extremism.

But listing the industry’s woes is one thing; acting to correct them is another. Saying the government cares about mining is nice. Proving it with legislation is a whole lot nicer.

It has been speculated that Edwards’ newfound concern was deepened by her attendance at a B.C. Mining Week symposium. Apparently, she had a front-row seat and suffered through endless glowing accounts of Chilean mining projects developed by Canadian know-how and dollars. Most damning of all, many of the companies involved are Vancouver-based. British Columbia, when it was mentioned, usually garnered criticism.

Falconbridge’s exploration chief, Mike Knuckey, served up a telling example. He explained how his company gave up on one B.C. project. The crew could not get a permit to cut “a few trees for a drill pad.” Falconbridge has since shut its Vancouver office and opened one in Santiago, Chile. And that also was duly recorded at the symposium. For Edwards, it must have been a long, long day.

We suggest the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) could ensure a similar treat be arranged for Edwards’ federal counterpart William McKnight. Before Canada’s mines minister

attends the PDAC’s annual convention in Toronto this week, he should be told plainly about the industry’s problems — that it is virtually under siege by environmentalists in some jurisdictions, fettered by government regulation, eyed warily by a suspicious public and burdened by escalating costs (power and workers’ compensation charges, to name two). For these reasons and more, mining requires a champion on Parliament Hill. It needs someone who can convincingly and authoritatively argue the industry’s side, someone who can persuade cabinet.

The British Columbia mining fraternity hopes it finally has such a champion in Edwards.