John Baird says pushback needed to support mining

Former Foreign Minister John Baird says the mining industry and government “must play offence, not defence,” when it comes to defending their interests and combatting anti-mining activism. “Far too often, the industry, and to some extent government, are playing defence when it comes to anti-mining activists and their close friends in the media,” Baird declared in a keynote address at Red Cloud Mining Capital's annual Fall Mining Showcase conference in Toronto. “To a great extent, anti-mining activism has become a bit of an industry in this country, and it takes many, many forms.” Baird, who resigned his post as cabinet minister earlier this year. He now sits on the advisory board of Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: ABX), is a global strategic advisor to engineering and development consultancy Hatch Ltd., and is a senior advisor at Bennett Jones, a law firm active in the mining industry. “You would be absolutely amazed at how many times that we discovered Canadian taxpayers’ dollars going to fight Canadian commercial interests abroad, especially in the extractive sector,” he told the conference. Read the complete article at NorthernMiner.com/news/john-baird