The Honourable Gary Lunn was appointed Minister of Natural Resources by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on February 6, 2006. Since 1997, he has been the Member of Parliament for the beautiful Saanich –Gulf Islands in British Columbia.
The Natural Resources portfolio is well suited to Minister Lunn because his early working days were spent in the mining and forestry industries in British Columbia and northern Canada. This experience has allowed him to understand first-hand the importance of Canada’s natural resources to our present and future prosperity.
Minister Lunn speaks frequently about the need to streamline the regulatory approval process for energy and mining projects in Canada, and has made this a personal priority.
In the February 26, 2008 budget, the government committed to the establishment of a new framework for Aboriginal economic development by the end of 2008, dedicating $70 million over the next two years for Aboriginal economic development measures to support the framework. In announcing this framework, the Budget makes special mention of the role that the mining and resource sectors serve in creating economic opportunities for Aboriginal Canadians.
The Federal Budget committed $34 million over the next two years to Natural Resources Canada for geological mapping, primarily focused in Canada’s North, and for logistical support for mapping activities provided by the Polar Continental Shelf Project.
The Budget also announced a commitment to renew the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (super flow-through share program) for a further year until March 31, 2009. The temporary 15-percent Mineral Exploration Tax Credit is an incentive available to individuals who invest in flow-through shares that are used to finance grassroots mining exploration. Extension of the credit will support continued exploration for new mineral reserves in the North and other regions of Canada.
A journeyman carpenter, Minister Lunn has designed and built numerous homes, including his family’s current home in Sidney, British Columbia. He and his wife Alexis have two children, David and Victoria.