29 January 2020
(Yellowknife, NT – January 29, 2020) Board members of the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines met with the Premier of the Northwest Territories Government (GNWT) and two of her Ministers, responsible for the minerals industry, infrastructure, land and environment, during the annual Roundup Minerals Conference in Vancouver last week.
Among the issues discussed with Premier Caroline Cochrane and Ministers Katrina Nokleby and Shane Thompson was the importance of renewing exploration and development investment in the NWT. The most recent statistics released by Natural Resources Canada show a significant decline in NWT investment that must be corrected to sustain the NWT’s strong minerals industry, the largest private sector contributor to the NWT’s economy.
Now is an opportune time to launch action plans for economic improvement with the newly-elected government currently developing a path forward through its Mandate. The Chamber strongly urged the Premier and Ministers to use the economic analysis, observations and recommendations made in the recent report Investigation of the Underlying Challenges in the NWT Economy, (Impact Economics, 2019) to inform the development of economic improvement plans. “This is an excellent report that spells out the issues faced by public and Indigenous governments, as well as industry,” says Ken Armstrong, President of the Chamber. “In addition to providing an economic overview of the NWT, the report also speaks to the vision required for the territory to secure long-term, sustainable growth and development. That vision includes responsible mining investment.”
In addition, the Chamber reinforced the good efforts by the GNWT to advance power and road infrastructure, to repatriate federal resource legislation, and to renew the Mineral Development Strategy. Topics recommended for future detailed discussion were the creation of mining regulations to accompany the new mining act, ways to increase lands available for exploration and mining, and consideration of an exploration tax credit to allow the north to better compete with southern jurisdictions. “We were very encouraged by the Premier and her Ministers’ recognition of the importance of a strong minerals industry to the current economy, and on actions that are needed to sustain and grow it,” added Armstrong.
The Chamber of Mines represents over 300 corporate and individual members who participate in, and support the northern minerals industry. For more information on the NWT and Nunavut mining industries, or on how the industry works, please visit the Chamber of Mines websites at www.miningnorth.com or www.miningnorthworks.com or contact Tom Hoefer, Executive Director at Tel: 867-873-5281 or email: executivedirector@miningnorth.com.