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Kilgour talks mining with House of Commons Standing Committee

The recent news by Vale about investing $2 billion into its Clean AER Project helped drive home the message Coun. Dave Kilgour presented to the Standing Committee of the House of Commons.
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Ward 7 Coun. Dave Kilgour stood as a witness before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources, which will decide the federal government's role in the Ring of Fire. File photo.
The recent news by Vale about investing $2 billion into its Clean AER Project helped drive home the message Coun. Dave Kilgour presented to the Standing Committee of the House of Commons.

Kilgour stood as a witness before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources, which studies and reports on the activities and spending of the Department of Natural Resources and its portfolio, and the related bills. The committee was seeking input as it considers the federal government's role in the development of the Ring of Fire.

The experience was a bit “intimidating” at first, Kilgour said in a phone interview with Northern Life following his presentation to the Standing Committee.

“The experience was just amazing; it's something I'd never done before,” Kilgour said. “It was intimidating going in, and I think we were the only municipality invited to speak, at least that I'm aware of. It was certainly a great assist to pick up the National Post this morning and see the Vale announcement.”

Kilgour's presentation was preceded by several days of meetings between mining companies and First Nations communities, part of which was an effort to acknowledge the need for negotiations and partnerships on the business, refining and environment side of the Ring of Fire project.

Vale's announcement helped, because one of the first things the First Nations that will be affected by the Ring of Fire project will consider is the environment, he said.

Kilgour said his plan was to stress the experience the city has picked up over its 130-year history in mining, where billions of dollars worth of nickel, copper, platinum, gold and many other metals have been mined, milled, smelted and refined.

“Greater Sudbury is an undisputed global centre of mining expertise,” Kilgour told the committee. "Today, even with more than a century of mining activity, an estimated $40 billion of mineral reserves have been identified and constant exploration adds to this total every day.”

The presentation “wasn't necessarily an opportunity to go in there and say build (Cliffs Natural Resources') ferrochrome processing plant here in Sudbury,” Kilgour said. “It was an opportunity to encourage the federal government to get involved and get into a mining strategy for the country, as well as put back where natural resources are taken away from provinces.”

Kilgour said at the end of the meeting, several of the MPs, who come from across the country and aren't familiar with the mining industry, approached him and “really appreciated the input from a community that is really involved in this.”

The Ring of Fire is very important to the City of Greater Sudbury, as it is with other municipalities in northeastern Ontario, Kilgour said. Should Cliffs decided to build it processing plant in Sudbury, it would create 300-500 jobs for the construction phase alone, with the potential of creating thousands of jobs throughout the years.

“It is critical that the federal government ensures that Canada's natural resources are developed in a way that benefits the region and province in which they are found,” Kilgour told the committee. This balance is challenging to achieve, but is critical to the long-term future of our resource sector."

Kilgour went on to emphasize the importance of the federal government's role in assisting workforce development and opportunities to encourage participation from the local labour forces and First Nations communities in order to maximize the potential for northern growth prior to accessing foreign workers.

“The federal government can also assist by helping communities like Greater Sudbury and our industry partners to counter the misperceptions of modern mineral development,” Kilgour said, in his presentation. “Today's Canadian mining industry. offers excellent employment opportunities for educated and skilled workers and will provide important economic development opportunities for northern Canada.”

There is still no word on where Cliffs will build its processing plant, but the company is supposed to be making an announcement sometime this first quarter, Kilgour said.

“There are no guarantees here,” he said. “I think Sudbury is the best option, and Cliffs has stated that as well, but it's a corporate decision that will be based on dollars, and I think the provincial and federal governments have to get involved to ensure this not only stays in Canada, but in Ontario.”

Posted by Arron Pickard

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Arron Pickard

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