TE ET

Dear Str:

In the Nov. 4 edition of
The Terrace Standard you
published an article stating
the provinee’s mining
regulations are driving up
the cost of doing business
and keeping mining invest-
ment away.

‘Much of the article reports

on comments made by Gary
Livingstone, President and
CEO of the Mining Associa-
tion.of British Columbia at a
presentation. to the Terrace
and’ “District Chamber of
Commerce on October 29,

T take exception to the
views expressed in the arti-
cle as being overly pes-

simistic and failing to recog- -

mize the significant progress
our. government has made
recently i in working with the
mining industry to continue
to- attract investment and
sustain this important sector
of our economy.

British Columbia is not
alone in experiencing. the
consequences of global fis-
cal uncertainty and record
low ‘prices for mineral com-
medities. This is a
worldwide phenomenon and

a
CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

The

Mail Bag

should be viewed jin that
context.

Js British Columbia alone
in experiencing a downturn
in investment? No. In the
Yukon exploration expendi-
tures are expected to be
down more than 50 per cent
compared io 1997. New-
foundland's are down from
$92.5 million in 1996 to less
than $50 million this year.

Despite the decrease in ex-
ploration spending, British
Columbia bas an enviable
record in bringing new
mines into production —
three in the past few years:
Huckleberry, Kemess and
Mt. Polley.

As well, we have made
significant strides in ad-

dressing the mining indus-
try’s concerns in order that
we remain attractive to in-
vestors and compelitive,

Mr. Livingstone cites land
use planning and native land
claims as disincentives for
investment. The facts are
that our government has
entrenched the right to mine
in legislation. We have also
recognized the right to com-
pensation when mining
properties and rights are ex-
propriated.

Through treaty negotia-
tions such as with the
Nisga’a we are working to
resolve long standing un-
certainty and bring a new
level of certainty for both
First Nations and our

Civil war a possbility

Dear Sir:

Like most fair-minded Ca-
nadidns, I am all in favour
of settling the native issue
once and far all, and am ful-
ly aware and in agreement
that there are costs involved.

However. the present
Nisga’a Agreement in Prin-
ciple has two very funda-
mental mistakes.

1. It will eventually lead to
civil war in Canada.

2. It-will not lead to the
abolishment of the prohibi-
tively expensive Department
of Indian Affairs.

Anybody who has studied
history, follows the news, or
educates him/herself on the
subject and cannot see this,
just either closes his/her
eyes or has his/her own
agenda for a possible per-
sonal profit from the deal.

Ireland, Israel, the
Balkans, South Africa and
Sparta in ancient Greece,
have in
who were artificially sepa-
rated into different groups
through religion, colour’
and/or race by political
and/or religion.

This led every time to
civil war which in same in-
stances lasted for centuries
and is almost impossible to
resolve,

This very thing is going to
happen in Canada, if we al-

’ low our govenunents to

make Nisga‘a-type deals.

The multicultural policy of °

the government in Ottawa
will be of great assistance in
this process.

The federal Department of
Indian Affairs is a gigantic
bureaucratic machine which
consumes billions of tax
dollars, Only a small per-
centage goes to the natives

"and most of that to their

leadership, ic. $90,000 per
‘year tax-free to a chief
councilor of a small band.
The NDP government not
long ago created its own na-
tive affairs department. The
bureaucracy is growing. Try
to eliminate this again, It is
like income tax which was

common people:

instituted in 1916 as a
temporary measure to pay
for the war effort. |

The only way to abolish
these bureaucracies
their expense is to eliminate
native status. Then we may
also be able to pay for the
cost of settlements. Make
every resident of Canada

’ equal with the same rights,

privileges, duties, and
responsibilities.

Strangely enough in 1969,
(Mr. Trudeau being Prime
Minister) the then-Minister
of Indian Affairs and Nerth-
em Development, Mr. Jean
Chretien, introduced a
White Paper on Indian

and '

policy which would have
fully integrated the native
Indians into Canada.

It was finally endorsed by
the Conservative Party; the
NDF sat on the fence. The
initial opposition came from
the native leaders and in the
spring of 1970 Mr. Chretien
gutlessly withdrew the
White Paper,

Thus the ‘Indian Industry’
was born to finance lawyers,
consultants, advisers, aca-
demics, and the uative
leadership.

Now you know who sup-
ports this’recipe for disaster
and why,

Dieter Wagner, Kitimat

Bring in this coupon and pick-up a
business card from your Zellers
pharmacist (keep it as a handy

reference) and you will receive a

EXOINIONY of 5,000 Club Z Points.

Gov’t is boosting mining

Dan Milter

resource industries.

I agree with Mr. Living-
stone that ihe future of our
mining sector relies on con-
tinued and active explora-
tion. Our government has
intraduced minerdl explora-
tion tax credits worth up to
$9-million per year to stimu-
late exploration. Our highly
successful prospector grant
program continues.

We have also worked
closely with industry to
reduce regulation and
simplify the approval and
permitting processes for ex-
ploration. We recently an-
nounced our intention to
move quickly to reduce en-
vironmental assessmenl
regulations that govern
smaller mining projects.

I agree with Mr. Living-
stone that there is still much
to be donc. The initiatives

we have undertaken may not .

resolve issues caused by

global uncertainty, but they

do position us to build @

strong mining sector for the
future.

Dan Miller,

Mines Minister

eS

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Coupon valid untii December 31, 1998

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The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 9, 1998 - A7

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