Recent Editorial: Northerners laud mining in survey prompting president to give praise

13 June 2016

Northerners laud mining in survey prompting president to give praise

Guest Comment News/North, June 13, 2016.

By Gary Vivian, the President of the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines

NWT residents overwhelmingly support mining and exploration in the NWT, and I can't think of a better time to share their thoughts. This year is the 25th anniversary of the discovery of NWT diamonds, and this week is NWT Mining Week, both causes to celebrate our top industry.

In March, our chamber and the Mining Association of Canada commissioned a survey using Abacus Data, an experienced national polling, public opinion and market research organization. Abacus' telephone survey of NWT residents revealed huge support, including:

  • Roughly 80 per cent have positive feelings about mining and mineral exploration companies operating in the NWT
  • Eighty-six per cent believe a strong mining industry is vital to the long-term health of the NWT economy
  • Eighty-six per cent say mining is good for the NWT;
  • Eighty-three per cent say regulation of the sector works well;
  • Eighty-two per cent would like to see more mining projects in the NWT; and the large majority are satisfied with our industry's performance across a range of areas, including economic contributions, treatment of employees, environmental care, worker safety and working collaboratively with aboriginal communities.

Lest you think it's all glowing, the survey also reminds industry that we need to keep our focus on environmental impacts, particularly wildlife, water and air.

The survey's strong vote of public confidence is in no small part due to the great work of our chamber members with local communities and governments in ongoing training, youth engagement, employment and business. It also reflects how our companies conduct themselves today as good corporate citizens.

Additional benefits in taxes, benefit agreements and resource royalty sharing with aboriginal governments underscore mining's importance in the NWT and the NWT's leadership in working with aboriginal communities.

  • Elected officials should take note too. Here's what else people said:
  • Eighty-four per cent are worried about the future of the NWT economy;
  • Eighty-two per cent want to see more mining projects in the NWT, and hope to see the governments of Canada and NWT promoting such activity; and
  • Eighty-eight per cent surveyed believe the 18th Legislative Assembly is supportive of mining, and the majority would like to see an even more supportive approach in the future.

We hope the first budget of the 18th assembly will reflect this public opinion, and will fund strong actions to support our NWT minerals industry. These past 25 years of diamonds have shown phenomenal mining benefits. Our youth are now counting on MLAs help for the next 25. We certainly have great untapped potential for it.

Since Mining Association of Canada and Abacus have conducted similar national surveys since 2012, you might ask: how do we compare to Canada? Actually, quite well.

"In the NWT, mining represents almost 40 per cent of the territory's GDP, and so the level of support and the desire to see more projects are even higher than we see elsewhere. The rest of Canada can learn from the NWT on how governments and industry work collaboratively with aboriginal com- munities and governments," according to Pierre Gratton, president and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada.

Abacus' Chairman, Bruce Ander- son observed that "The visibility of the industry in the NWT and its importance to the future health of the territorial economy are undoubtedly what con- tributes to even stronger results than what we see in other regions."

So, a huge shout out to all of our members for their good work, to governments – public and aboriginal – for their supportive actions, to all the people employed in the industry, and to all NWT residents who recognize the importance of a strong minerals industry that is generating so many benefits for us all.

Happy NWT Mining Week!

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