Quebec budget troubles geologists

The Association of Professional Geologists and Geophysicists of Quebec (APGGQ) is not impressed by the lack of additional support for mining exploration financing in the recent Quebec budget.

The association said the measures contained in the new budget will have no real impact in stimulating financing for juniors.

The Quebec government announced a 2-year extension of the special flow-through-share tax incentives incurred by junior mining companies undertaking exploration work in the province. Writeoffs equal to 133.3% for underground exploration and 166.7% for surface work will continue to be available to investors.

The association points out that the Quebec Ministry of Energy and Resources has in the past recognized the validity of investment incentives, but the message seems to have changed. “The mining exploration industry is receiving contradictory signals from the provincial government,” APGGQ said in a prepared statement.

“On one side, the ministry of energy and resources proudly announces the positive effects attributed to investment in mining exploration, and at the same time the ministry of finance announces that it wants to maintain only minimal exploration activity at a time when exploration activity is at its lowest level in many years. The mining exploration sector is understandably worried.”

The association said the mining industry is one of the province’s most important sectors. “The revival of Quebec’s economy should start with the primary sectors such as the mining industry where each job created has a multiplier effect of great importance on jobs created in the secondary and tertiary sectors,” APGGQ said.