TORONTO – The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada's annual trade show and conference, underway this week, is the most important occasion of the year for many prospectors, explorationists and juniors. This year, the federal and Ontario governments used the occasion to deliver news that will support our industry.
Federal finance minister Joe Oliver announced Sunday evening that the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit is to be renewed. This measured helps Canadian juniors raise capital for projects, and its cancellation would have been devastating to this sector of the industry. He also announced a proposed change to the Canadian Exploration Expense program that would allow the inclusion of certain environmental and aboriginal consultation expenses. The change gives added scope to the popular flow-through share mechanism at a time when these two aspects of early exploration are increasingly necessary.
Also on Sunday, the Hon. Greg Rickford, federal Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the federal economic development initiative for Northern Ontario, and the Hon. Michael Gravelle, Ontario minister of Northern Development and Mines, announced a joint undertaking to study the creation of an all weather transportation corridor to the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario. All weather access to the region will not only spur exploration there but it will also be a boon to any mines developed in the area.
The third piece of good news is that Jeffery Davidson has been named Canada's Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor for the extractive sector. The post had been vacant for several months until this announcement was made by the Hon. Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade. Davidson has worked in industry, academic and non-profit settings and is well regarded within the mining sector.
More information about the PDAC convention is available at the association's website, PDAC.ca.
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