Why I support Shandong Mining’s big new investment in Nunavut – by Leona Aglukkaq (Financial Post – September 15, 2020)

https://financialpost.com/

The federal government must soon decide whether to approve Shandong Gold’s acquisition of TMAC Resources. The test is whether the purchase is of net benefit to Canada, including economic benefits with no unacceptable risk to national security.

One might think approving a Chinese acquisition of TMAC, which owns the Hope Bay gold mine in Nunavut, might be risky. But as a Nunavut Inuk, as a TMAC director and shareholder, and as a long-time representative of my community in government, I can tell you the benefits are too great to pass up.

The Nunavut government and Jeannie Ehaloak, MLA for Cambridge Bay, the Nunavut constituency that encompasses the mine, agree. Nunavut needs the investment that Shandong will bring. This investment will help move my region toward economic sustainability.

Having sat at the cabinet table when such decisions were being made, I would not support this transaction if I believed it undermined our national security.

Nunavut has the highest proportion of youth of any province or territory in Canada but the most limited opportunities for training and employment.

For the rest of this column: https://financialpost.com/opinion/leona-aglukkaq-why-i-support-shandong-minings-big-new-investment-in-nunavut