By Cheryl Jahn

Industry has a message for government

Industry has a message for government

Dec 20, 2024 | 12:43 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – There are more than a dozen active mines in BC and nine other mines in active development, such as Artemis’ Blackwater Gold.

But a group of seven economic development associations, such as the Mining Association of BC, has sent a letter to the government, saying the province is falling behind economically.

“What we need to do now is step back, take a look at all of this and ask ourselves, you know, is this necessary?” asks Michael Goehring, President and CEO of the Mining Association of BC. “What can we change in order to give the private sector room for growth, room for innovation and room to build more jobs and bring in more investment to kick start our economy?”

The letter states: “The province has lost 12,400 manufacturing jobs since 2017, and the lack of investment in the sector is nearing crisis levels, according to the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME). Forestry has shed over 10,000 direct jobs in just four years and hundreds of millions of dollars in lost investment.”

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“The situation is really challenging,” says Kiel Giddens, the Shadow Critic for Labour. “The current government lacks a private sector jobs plan. Virtually all of the jobs created since 2019 have been in the public sector. What these groups are calling for is really a return to private sector prosperity.”

For years, mining and forestry have called on the government to expedite the permitting process. Their concerns are exclusive. But there is an overarching concern among all seven.

“The big message is that we have a government that has ignored the fiscal situation in the province and that’s actually hurting BC’s long-term competitive prosperity,” says Giddens.

If Michael Goehring has any hope, it partially came during last year’s Natural Resources Forum, from the then-minister of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation.

“Critical minerals are essential to the global energy transition that we’re a part of right now,” said Josie Osborne. “We need these minerals out of the ground so that they can build the wind turbines and the heavy batteries and the solar panels that everybody’s depending on for that transition.”

Goehring says there are 17 critical mineral mines on the horizon.

“Their construction will deliver some $32 billion in new private sector investment in British Columbia, and that includes through their construction that would deliver some 11 billion in employment earnings to workers in BC.”