The BC Conservatives have outlined their plan to unlock the potential of the province's mining industry.Leader John Rustad vowed to dismantle the bureaucracy keeping mines from opening and ensure everyone across BC reaps the benefits of investments in the natural resource sector."There is so much potential, and that potential is being held back," he said during a press conference in Cranbrook. "There is a process that this government has put in place that just takes forever to actually get something done. It makes it extremely difficult to actually get a mine open in this province."He pointed out that while it takes three years to go through a permitting process in Australia and only two years in Sweden, in BC it can take as long as 15 years."That to me is unacceptable," Rustad said, noting that the world needs resources and communities need jobs. There are currently around 35,000 people in BC employed by the mining sector, which happens to be the sector of the economy that hires the most indigenous people.He explained that there are currently around 17 mines near the end of the permitting process, which will result in the creation of between 20,000 and 30,000 jobs and a $38 billion investment in the province. "It would generate close to $11 billion annually for the government," Rustad continued, adding that the province is currently operating at a $9 billion deficit.He said a Conservative government would do away with some of the red tape by implementing a "single permit process," which would let mines open far quicker than they do now. Also touted was the policy of "economic reconciliation," ensuring that First Nations are partners in the industry, and a promise to mitigate the environmental impacts of mining."Mining, in my opinion, has a great future in British Columbia," Rustad concluded. "As a government, we are gonna champion mining, we are gonna make sure that the opportunity is there to be able to build these mines, to be able to provide the resources we need, to be able to provide those good-paying jobs in British Columbia to create that revenue stream for this province, and quite frankly to get British Columbia back to work."
The BC Conservatives have outlined their plan to unlock the potential of the province's mining industry.Leader John Rustad vowed to dismantle the bureaucracy keeping mines from opening and ensure everyone across BC reaps the benefits of investments in the natural resource sector."There is so much potential, and that potential is being held back," he said during a press conference in Cranbrook. "There is a process that this government has put in place that just takes forever to actually get something done. It makes it extremely difficult to actually get a mine open in this province."He pointed out that while it takes three years to go through a permitting process in Australia and only two years in Sweden, in BC it can take as long as 15 years."That to me is unacceptable," Rustad said, noting that the world needs resources and communities need jobs. There are currently around 35,000 people in BC employed by the mining sector, which happens to be the sector of the economy that hires the most indigenous people.He explained that there are currently around 17 mines near the end of the permitting process, which will result in the creation of between 20,000 and 30,000 jobs and a $38 billion investment in the province. "It would generate close to $11 billion annually for the government," Rustad continued, adding that the province is currently operating at a $9 billion deficit.He said a Conservative government would do away with some of the red tape by implementing a "single permit process," which would let mines open far quicker than they do now. Also touted was the policy of "economic reconciliation," ensuring that First Nations are partners in the industry, and a promise to mitigate the environmental impacts of mining."Mining, in my opinion, has a great future in British Columbia," Rustad concluded. "As a government, we are gonna champion mining, we are gonna make sure that the opportunity is there to be able to build these mines, to be able to provide the resources we need, to be able to provide those good-paying jobs in British Columbia to create that revenue stream for this province, and quite frankly to get British Columbia back to work."
