Candace MacGibbon: Canadians need to stop demonizing mining – by Candace MacGibbon (Financial Post – June 10, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

We need to persuade Canadians to stop being ashamed of the riches our great nation holds

With Doug Ford winning a second term as premier of Ontario, the province is poised to enter a mining renaissance. Between the commitments made to the sector during the provincial election and those set out in the federal budget this spring, Ontario has an unprecedented opportunity to become a global leader in mining again. Just one thing stands in our way: Canadians’ negative perception of mining.

To change that, government money alone won’t be enough. We need to persuade Canadians to stop being ashamed of the riches our great nation holds to being proud of Canada’s resource heritage and its potential to be a leader in the shift to a more prosperous and carbon-neutral world. From solar panels to electric vehicles, Canadian minerals are essential to a greener future.

Until its acquisition by an operating miner, I was CEO of a gold exploration and development company, with an asset located in a developing country. I’ve spent many years advocating for the sustainable and environmentally responsible development of mining projects that provide significant benefits to local communities.

Those include employment to quell emigration out of rural communities, increased tax revenues to governments, and an overall increase in the economic health of entire regions. Canadian mining, both at home and abroad, supports many of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, yet at every turn there are high hurdles to jump, despite playing by the rules.

For the rest of this article: https://financialpost.com/opinion/candace-macgibbon-canadians-need-to-stop-demonizing-mining