Quebec drops in mining investment ranking amid concerns over political stability – by Peter Koven (National Post – March 1, 2013)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

For the past decade, Quebec was considered one of the best places in the world for mining investment. Not so much anymore.

In the Fraser Institute’s latest annual rankings of mining jurisdictions, Quebec dropped out of the top 10, landing in 11th place. The province finished in first place from 2007 to 2010, and was fifth in 2012.

The drop was not a shock. Throughout last year’s election campaign, Premier Pauline Marois threatened the mining industry with higher royalties, a 30% super-profits tax and changes to Plan Nord, the province’s $80-billion northern development strategy. And her threats came shortly after former premier Jean Charest himself raised mining taxes.

No substantial changes have been announced by the Parti Québécois government so far, though they are being reviewed. The ongoing threat of them has been enough to rattle some mining executives.

“The respondents felt that political stability had deteriorated and that uncertainty about the enforcement of existing regulations had become more uncertain and negative,” survey director Kenneth Green said in an interview.

“When you look at those two considerations, it would seem both the elections and the ongoing controversies about mining and energy production in Quebec could have been responsible [for the decline].”

Canadian provinces performed relatively well in the survey. Alberta and New Brunswick ranked third and fourth, while Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Newfoundland and Yukon all ranked in the top 20.

For the rest of this article, please go to the National Post website: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/02/28/quebec-drops-in-mining-investment-ranking-amid-concerns-over-political-stability/