8 June 2021
MLA Kevin O’Reilly recently tabled documents that record meetings of a working group between the Chamber of Mines and the GNWT.
This working group was created to help explore ways the GNWT could help speed recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring that a stronger mineral resource development industry exists in the NWT post-COVID.
Mineral resource development (exploration, mining and reclamation) is a foundation of the NWT’s economy. In good years, its contributions approach 40% of the NWT’s economy through training, employment, business spending, and government revenues. These mineral resource benefits are important to all northerners, and are the basis for many successful Indigenous businesses .
Mineral resource development has slowed in recent years, affecting the entire economy. Concerns continue from leaders in public and Indigenous governments, from economic analysts, and government statisticians. Some of these concerns are listed at the end of this letter. They provide good reasons why exploration and mining were selected as key areas for improvement by both the 18th and 19th Assemblies of the NWT, who recognize our economy's health relies on mineral resource development.
COVID-19 dealt an even bigger blow to the economy by virtually shutting down the diamond market. Falling sales and prices affected all three of our diamond mines and took one into bankruptcy protection. The fallout is still being felt across the economy.
Over the last 16 months, the Chamber of Mines redoubled its efforts to help governments rejuvenate the northern mineral resource economy through working groups and regular meetings with the GNWT, and pan-territorial work with the Yukon, Nunavut, federal and Indigenous governments and organizations. This work is not secret, and presentations and news releases describing our work are on our website: www.miningnorth.com. In fact, many of our recommendations were provided to MLAs of the newly elected 19th Assembly in October 2019, an event attended by nearly all MLAs.
We fully agree with MLA O’Reilly that MLAs, the media and the public should read the 120 pages of meeting records that he tabled in the legislature. We have posted them on our website here. For an easier to read summary of our recommendations to governments, go to the presentation we made to Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who requested a meeting with the Chamber as part of pre-budget 2021 consultations.
MLAs and the public should know that we are also working with governments, Indigenous groups, and the territorial land and water boards to improve the regulatory system. This process results from recommendations from the NWT 2020 Environmental Audit, an independent appraisal of the NWT regulatory system required under law. The improvement process began over a year ago, and now supports quarterly meetings. Related to regulatory improvement, we recently applied for a judicial review of a board decision on the extension of land use permits. Details on this are also found on our website here.
A key item in the 19th Assembly’s Mandate – which was created and approved by all MLAs – is to: “Increase resource exploration and development.” We are proud of the work we are doing with the government to help fulfill that mandate item, and we will continue our earnest efforts to provide constructive ideas on improving mineral resource development for the benefit of northerners and Canada. These are the tenets of our Chamber’s Mission and our Vision.
We encourage all MLAs to advance the 19th Assembly’s Mandate and to propose and support constructive actions that could help improve the NWT’s mineral resource economy to the benefit of their constituents. We ask MLAs to reach out to the Chamber of Mines to share ideas on the rejuvenation of the NWT’s mineral resource sector. Several have, and we thank them.
-------------------------------------------