Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez has written a letter to federal Industry Minister Tony Clement criticizing remarks the minister made, in a local media outlet July 18, about Sudbury's bleak outlook had Vale not come along and purchased Inco in 2006.
Clement reportedly said that “there was going to be no buyer (of Inco in 2006), there were going to be no jobs, there weren't going to be any capital investments, there was going to be no employer. That was the Valley of Death that Sudbury faced.”
Rodriguez said in his letter that he found Clement's remarks to be “intemperate, to say the least, and disappointingly misinformed for someone who holds a cabinet position and who is the Federal Minister responsible for economic development in northern Ontario.”
He invited Clement to visit Sudbury so that he could show him some of the city's economic diversification initiatives.
“Greater Sudbury is home to one of the richest mineral deposits in the world, and has a highly skilled mining workforce second to none. Not only is our wealth beneath our feet, but our community is a virtual think tank of innovative mining practices,” the letter said.
“I would wager that a global mining giant, like Vale, would have done its due diligence prior to making a $19 billion US investment to ensure that they would be receiving good value for money. As for potential purchasers of Inco, I recall vividly that when it was known that Inco was entertaining offers to purchase, there was a flurry of interest from suitors from around the globe, including the former Falconbridge, Xstrata, Phelps Dodge and CVRD.”
Rodriguez's letter goes on to say that while Sudbury has felt the effects of the recession, the city's economic statistics compare favourably to other cities in the country. Sudbury's most recent unemployment rate is 8.9 per cent, which is lower than the provincial average of 9.6 per cent, and comparable to the federal average of 8.6 per cent.
“Minister, I cannot stress strongly enough that Greater Sudbury is not a backwater mining camp but an industrious city with a very diversified local economy,” the letter said.
“We are the regional service centre for northeastern Ontario in areas including education, commerce, health and retail. So while mining remains a very important pillar in our community's economic foundation, your comments do a disservice to the positive efforts of our citizens in building a dynamic and innovative community.”
