What two major mines have begun production since 2011??

Mount Milligan is not yet up and running, and Kemess closed down.

Mine revenue up $114 Million from the previous year, yet MSP premiums and other taxes heading up in 2013.

The BC Government has an insatiable appetite for money, and an apparent inability to control spending. Not a good mix, because at the end of the day, we will all go broke.

You left out one word palopu. OUR money. These mining outfits pay almost nothing and it will be good to make them and all these other companies start paying tax again. That’s where the MSP money should be coming from. Corporations. They should be paying for our MSP. It is afterall our resourses being extracted then given away for almost nothing. Then we have to pay more for MSP whether we need it or not. Or whether a person makes 30 thousand or a million a year. Make these corporations pay to look after us.

Even a good news story like this and we get negative comments. MSP premiums…..really. If a few dollars a month are a big problem for you, then ask the doctor the next time you see him how much the bill is…..we got it good period!!!!

So they raise a few extra bucks on MSP, don’t forget that BC Income Tax is the lowest in Canada.

I for one think BC is the best Province in Canada. Just take a trip outside of our country and see what others have to deal with. Countries on the verge of going bankrupt, bombs dropping from the sky, massive unemployment, etc etc.

Yeah, MSP is going up a few bucks………OMG

Exactly mwk. Some people love to engage their fingers before their brains have had a chance to kick in.

mattyc. I’m assuming that you haven’t been to one of the mines in the area based on your comment. Do you know how many people are employed at each of the mines? Do you know how much tax is deducted from their income?

Actually most corporations do pay your MSP if you are employed there…

Mattyc, many corporations pay the MSP premiums each month! And our totally stressed out, under-paid and over-worked provincial government employees don’t pay for their MSP premiums. We, that tax-payers pay it for them!

I believe this is the same for ICBC, BC Hydro, BC Ferries, and on and on!

To suggest that corporations do not pay taxes is absolutely ridiculous! Let’s tax them to death! This will result in less profit reducing amounts paid out as dividends to share-holders including many pension plans. Take a look at the assets held by many public sector pensions. I wonder how much they rely upon the dividends declared and paid by the nasty mining companies and other corporations!

The sad thing about forums such as this one is that the comments are simply the uninformed informing the uninformed!

The MSP premium increase is just the tip of the ice burg. It doesnt effect me because mine is paid for by the Co., that I worked for. As shown above all the Government workers, and Government entities get thiers paid by thier employers.

The increased premium will mean those earning over $30,000.00 will pay the full rate of $66.50 for individuals, $120.50 for families of two, and $133 for families of three or more, every month. People under $30,000.00 pay subsidized rates, and those who earn less than $22,000.00 pay nothing.

So once again those people who earn between $30,000.00 and $40,000.00, who dont have the cushy union, or Government jobs, get it in the ear. They pay the same rate as someone earning $150,000.00 to $500,000.00 per year, however its highly unlikey that they will get any increase in income to cover these rising costs.

That is my point. All is not well for all people in BC. If you think you can keep increasing taxes, services, gasoline, heat, etc; etc; on people who dont have the ability to pay you are living in a dream world. These people are getting sick and tired, of being berated by those who have cushy jobs, connections, and a total lack of concern for thier fellow man.

Only those who make considerably more than $30,000.00 per year, can afford to travel around the world and make comparisons between other Countries and BC. Maybe you should do some travelling around BC. Im sure you would find some areas that are not much better than 3rd world Countries.

If you dont know what the hell is taking place in your own Country, then dont make meaningless comparisons to other Countries.

Amazing people, so you don’t like unions because of their benefits! Think about that for a moment.

Oh by the way I had a unionised government job and I paid a share of health benefits, the company did not pay the complete cost. I have two sons in private unionized companies and one in non unionized and they all pay a portion of their health benefits.

I believe mattc prides himself in working under the table so that means he is on a form of welfare. He is not paying his share of taxes to support the society he lives in, that means honest hard working taxpayers are carrying him. Like I said a form of welfare.

“The sad thing about forums such as this one is that the comments are simply the uninformed informing the uninformed!”

The sad thing is that those who post such statements typically have no idea who is posting them. Do any of you know mattyc? I very much doubt he is one of those who works in the mining industry …. one of more than 9 thousand who earned an AVERAGE of over $105,000 per year in 2011. That is almnost twice as much as the average of the over 50,000 employed in the forest industry in BC.

Mattyc could be one of the “in between” who has enough income to have to pay for the MSP. He could also be one who does not know that low income people can apply to not pay or pay less.

The rest probably are totally unaware that BC is one of the few provinces that still requires people to pay for the MSP.

Of course, when a company pays the MSP for their emplopyee, that is a taxable benefit.

So if Coleman has nothing much to say, then people like me who are curious of how it is going will do some finger walking though the internet to find something to sink some teeth into.

Here is the Mining Association of BC’s web site with stats for 2010 and 2011.

http://www.mining.bc.ca/mining-facts

Gross revenues $9.9 billion, an increase of 25%

Increase to government of 14.5%

Increase in employed people of 13.6%

Increase in average employee earnings 7%

Average employee’s earnings $115,700

1,200 exploration companies in BC, most in the GVRD area

Coal shipment increased by 53%

Coal has 55.8% of the dollar value of the mining market.

Forest Industry ……………………

2010 52,000 jobs, 2011 51,200 1.5% loss all attributed to paper and lumber products while harvesting and forestry jobs were up by 16.7%

Forest product exports 2010=$9.1 billion 2011=$9.9 billion = 8.8% increase

Mining is the highest paid industry in BC as well as in Canada.

Note that most of the firms are located in the lower mainland. An indicator of the amount of money put into the local economy of where the mining and exploration actually takes place.

Imagine an industry where the increase in average employee income is 7% per year …..

The picture of the have’s and have not’s of our society which go a long way to the types of posts that the mattyc’s of the world post.

Workers at most mines make large sacrifices in their family lifes. I think this is often overlooked. Yes I know they aren’t the only ones living in camps.

Like it or not, the costs of sustaining the medical system are going nowhere but up. As the senior population balloons, things like MSP premiums have to increase to at least offset some of the increased costs. Nobody should be surprised by this.

What an uncaring point of view old white man …… Remind me never to come and ask you to volunteer to help others …. thanks for letting us know who you really are as a person and who you care about …you …. you are obiously part of the uncaring “me generation”.

gus,

nothing like jumping to conclusions.

mattyc has done nothing on here to prove that he deserves help. He is a person who constantly has his hands out, feels everyone owes him a living. I have no respect for that kind of person.

Fact is he is a self confessed tax cheat and a radical. Nothing more, nothing less.

boomer,

you are very correct in that assertion. Miners usually have to spend extended time away from their families, work through holidays and work long hours when on shift. Add to that the life span of most mines is limited so they are forced to move many times during their careers.

It is a financially rewarding career, but one with its hardships.

“forced to move many times”

Hopefully not at gun point in Canada. Of course in some of the 3rd world countries where Canadian mining companies operate, that may not be something to kid about.

It is too bad that Bill C311 failed to be passed in Parliament by a vote of 140 to 134.

It was called the “The Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries Act”.

I think that to even have a bill such as that show up in Parliament and reach that point is a good indicator of the quality of corporate responsibility when the laws are not tough enough.

In part it stated: “The purpose of this enactment is to promote environmental best practices and to ensure the protection and promotion of international human rights standards in respect of the mining, oil or gas activities of Canadian corporations in developing countries.

“It also gives the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of International Trade the responsibility to issue guidelines that articulate corporate accountability standards for mining, oil or gas activities and it requires the Ministers to submit an annual report to both Houses of Parliament on the provisions and operation of this Act”

Why on earth would our government have to give consideration to passing such an Act of Parliament? A total waste of time if our foreign affairs office would not have received substantive complaints.

Are any of our other industrial corporations, such as those from the forestry industries, facing similar concerns by our government? I do not know of any.

“Miners usually have to spend extended time away from their families”

My niece’s husband is an officer in the merchant marine. He is away 3 months at a time … then back for a 2 or 3 month home leave.

Another extended family member is an refrigeration engineer who troubleshoots refrigeration systems aboard large fishing trawlers which the company he works for sells all over the world and maintains wherever the ships are active.

Once one starts to think about it a bit, it is amazing how many people are away from home for extended and steady periods of time.

In fact, when one works in the mining industry in actual mines, one can usually relocate close to the mine for some 15+ years. The average Canadian family moves more frequently than that for “ordinary” jobs or a change in scenery. We are, compared to many other countries, a nation of nomads.

It seems to me that a large number of people in BC just dont get it.

Using Prince George as an example, we know that the median wage is $41000.00 per year. That means that a whole lot of people are earning less than 40 and a whole lot who are earning more.

We need not concern ourselves about those who have high paid union jobs, or Government Workers, or those who work for Government entities such as ICBC, BC Hydro, BC Ferries, etc, as these people make a good wage, and have the ability to negotiate for more.

However we do have a huge number of people who work and get paid between $25000 and $40,000 per year. Who do not belong to any unions, have no, or very few benefits, but have to pay the same for services etc; In addition we have a large number of people who are on pensions, that have no way to increase thier income to offset the rise in the cost of living.

That is the issue. I have no problem with how much money an individual earns. He pays his taxes, and he gets his benefits, and life is good. Thats how it should be, however the problem is, it is only good for some people in this Province. For the rest they are getting royally screwed.

Dont blame the rise in the MSP on the increased cost of providing care for seniors, this is just part of the problem.

The real problem in BC, and the one thing that costs us millions upon millions of dollars, is the bloody various levels of Government, and total unrestricted Government waste of tax dollars. Only a fool or a dolt, would try to justify the spending in the past 10 years of this Liberal Goverment. It is beyond belief. The Government is the cause of most of the problems in this Province. If we dont smarten up, and bring these guys to task, they will take us over the abyss.

Its just that simple.

Its not our lot in life, to earn money for the Government to piss away, on thier friends, with cushy contracts, etc; etc;. We need some fiscal responsibility, and we need it fast.

I am always amazed at the number of people who do not seem to have the ability to see how distructive this bloody Government is on all of us. Those people who earn between $25000 and $40000 per year, would be far better off if the Government quit raising the cost of every bloody service under the sun.

Governments do NOT need more money.They need to learn how to be responsible for the public purse. Will they do this voluntarily? I sincerely doubt it.

After the last 10 years, what sane person would vote for a Liberal??? Well guess what, a whole wack of them will, because they are afraid of the big bad (wolf) NDP.
In other words they are not capable of getting beyond voting liberal or ndp. Duhhh.

Maybe some of the **Hot Shots** on these posts could get off thier arses and run as Independents and try to change the system, rather than sit in thier comfy couches, eating popcorn, watching tv, breaking wind, and passing judgement on those who are not connected.

Have a nice day.

So once again those people who earn between $30,000.00 and $40,000.00, who don’t have the cushy union, or Government jobs, get it in the ear.

And that would be me…..

B.C. is expensive, period.

Very well said, Palopu. This government was first elected proclaiming that “Tax cuts work”. And they DO ~ when they are CUT. Not simply SHIFTED, and constantly increased for those least able to afford those increases. That’s been the legacy of the BC Liberals. Their rank and file are too dumb to see that the present course being followed will lead us indirectly to exactly the same place the NDP would take us directly.

The NDP years were hard on BC too! The fact that Dix will do anything for his buddies should scare the heck out of the BC voters.

Yes, NoWay they were “…hard on BC too”. And no doubt about it, Dix has already demonstrated he’s not of exemplary character. We might say he’s as big a phoney as a divorced dame with a kid yapping about “families first” is, when it’s quite obvious furthering her career as a ‘professional politician’ has been and still is more important. But that doesn’t get us anywhere, does it?

Which one of them is going to commit to raising the overall standard of living for ALL British Columbians while lowering the overall cost of living for ALL British Columbians? Rather than just engaging again in another fruitless exercise of “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, or vice versa? Haven’t we had enough of that? It’s all we’ve had from BOTH those Parties. Why vote for either of them? Neither one is any good. All we’re doing in casting a ballot for either is giving one or the other approval to keep screwing us by approving of their particular METHOD of doing just that. The end result is the same for the vast majority of us. We pay more and get less for it. Time we woke up and demanded better. We’re already paying enough for it.

“B.C. is expensive, period.”

Any place can be expensive to individuals since each one of us finds themselves in a different economic situation as we progress through life.

When one makes a statement intended to be applied to the general population one needs to look at statistics about long term average changes in the cost of living and average incomes. Comparing those to conditions in other provinces over the same 10 year periods, BC does quite well, actually.

The average after tax individual disposable income from statscan as shown below is for the period of 2000 to 2010 while the Cost of Living is for the period of 2002 to November 2012.

Annual disposable income – the percentage at the end is the percentage change over the 10 year period. The list is in decreasing order of change.

nfld$16,926$24,16442.8%
alta$23,579$33,43841.8%
sask$18,901$26,19338.6%
nb$18,938$24,01726.8%
bc$21,099$26,16624.0%
man$20,088$24,48621.9%
ns$19,469$23,60321.2%
ont$23,533$27,00414.7%
pei$18,452$21,13714.6%

The top three are all energy related economies where the change has been close to the same. The next 5 are also closely aligned in the middle of the pack. Ontario and PEI bring up the bottom. Again, Ontario is another good example of the major industry having some problems and that affecting the whole economy.

So here is the cost of living increase over 10 years but taken from 2002 to the present. The first number is the increase in percent for the cost of living. The second is the percentage difference when one considers the increase in income and then subtracts the cost of living increase from that. It is not a precise methodology, but it is close enough as an indicator of how provinces have fared with their economies from the workers points of view over a 10 year period.

nfld24.3%18.5%
alta27.3%14.5%
sask24.5%14.1%
bc17.6%6.4%
nb22.0%4.8%
que21.1%1.9%
man21.1%0.8%
ns25.5%-4.3%
ont21.9%-7.2%
pei25.9%-11.3%

So, given that the top three – surprise, surprise – are energy extracting economies, BC is 4th. In my world, not that shabby. Nova Scotia, Ontario, and PEI have eroded their financial status for their citizens.

The cost of energy has gone up over 50% in 10 years. Those province who extract fossil fuel energy have benefited from that, and those who have none of their own are paying for the well being of those who prayed to God to give them energy.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/cpis01g-eng.htm

So, we have the water frontage to float that energy to the rest of the world. Other provinces have the energy. The deal to make is obvious. Send it to the states, or pay BC for ocean access.

Sounds like a normal business deal to me.

There is simply no longer a viable political party that can adequately govern this province. No matter which party forms the next government we will be screwed. Politicians have no morals and only seek to further their own bottom lines.

As long as mining companies can mine ore properly, safely, and in an enviromentally responsible manner then let them open up all the mines they like.

gus: “When one makes a statement intended to be applied to the general population one needs to look at statistics about long term average changes in the cost of living and average incomes.”

You also have to consider the source, and that will quite often tell you all you need to know.

Debt is a cumulative deficiency in consumer purchasing power recorded over time. And if BC were doing as well as some statistics seem to indicate, then why have debt levels as a percentage of disposable income continued to increase?

Why did the head of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada, in his testimony before a parliamentary committee on Finance only a year ago, tell the Members of that Committee that more and more people are no longer indebting themselves just to purchase the “big ticket” consumer disposables, like cars, boats, appliances, etc., but increasingly now out of necessity “…just TO LIVE” ?

Are we all ‘profligate spenders’ engaging in a never ending orgy of ‘affluenca’? I hardly think so! But what if we were? What would happen if we WEREN’T? If (those that still could) ‘saved’ more and ‘spent’ less? Does the wail of what will happen that arises whenever consumer spending falls, say over Christmas, for instance, provide a clue? The horror of horrors in a country that thirsts after ‘jobs’ ~ rising unemployment ~ then stalks the land.

“You also have to consider the source”

So what do you think is wrong with the government organizations who do this?

You are inferring that the source is invalid.

You realize, of course, that the same source (government) of data is used by interpreters such as McLeans, RBC, CIBC, tight and left wing think tanks, etc. etc. They do not have the money to create their own data.

TIGHT??? LOL ….. RIGHT wing and LEFT wing think tanks ……

“As long as mining companies can mine ore properly, safely, and in an enviromentally responsible manner”

They CAN …. but that is not the test …. the test is whether they DO it. And, it seems to be that given the opportunity in other countries they DO not do it.

And the Chinese are catching on and playing the system as well from he looks of it.

“You also have to consider the source”

—

Gus: “So what do you think is wrong with the government organizations who do this?

You are inferring that the source is invalid.”

I’m not sure who you’re talking about, but the source I was referring to was hammy. ’nuff said.

The original story was about mining companies being rock solid. One only has to look at the share price of TCM to see not all is rock solid. From a high of over 14 dollars per share to under 2.50 per share a few months ago and a recent closing of just over 4 dollars a share. Mount Milligan has been a huge drain on TCM with a cost over run of nearly a half billion dollars which has caused the company to forward sell future gold production at a discount. Will the company survive as TCM or just be another Chinese targeted takeover.

What an interesting read. Lotta valid points of view here.
Think I’ll stick with the Liberals. The NDP won’t allow mining or anything else.

The Government and Government entities such as ICBC, BC Hydro, BC Transit, BC Ferries, Airport Authoritys, BCLC, Gas Tax, Carbon Tax, etc; etc; are sucking the life blood out of BC Residents.

There is no control over these increases. The BC Utilities commission pays lip service to increases.

Unelected people should not have the authority to raise prices on consumers, Government entities should be better regulated by Government with a view to ensure that the interests of all citizens are protected, not just the interests of the entities as is now the case.

Government entities such as Hydro, Transit, ICBC, BCLC, etc; are just shills for the Government. They are nothing more than thinly disquised tax collectors.

We have a serious problem in BC. Even the RCMP are a tax collection agency for the Government and Municipalities through the writing of speeding tickets etc; Municipalities relie on gambling and RCMP dollars to run their citys.

We are surrounded by these tax dollar eating entities, and dont seem to have any way to back them off. I can gaurantee you that if the present trend continues, we will all end up eating porridge and drinking water.

Anyone remember the NDP job creation strategies of the Fast Ferries,Skeena Cellulose, and the Island Highway construction fiascos?
How were those for tax dollar eating entities?

Palopu, I agree with what you are saying, but how to fix the problem is an even bigger problem.

Over half of the working population of Canada is now either directly or indirectly employed by government. Federal, provincial, municipal employees, doctors, nurses, teachers, RCMP, Fire Departments, Ambulance Services, Community Services this and that, ICBC, Highways Maintenance Contractors, the list goes on and on and on!

With over half of the working population being paid for with tax dollars, these people are not going to vote for anything or anybody that is willing to shake things up and attempt to change the status quo! Perhaps we are already beyond the point of no return!

So, we get screwed and we don’t even get a kiss while we are being screwed!

Now that’s quite interesting, Hart Guy. Suppose ALL the working population was employed by the government, not just half, (as the ‘pure’ socialists once called for with their plans to nationalise virtually all private property).

Would our tax dollars and what’s left us after taxes then be able to buy all the goods and services we consume now without our going into debt? And if we did go into debt, who would we be going into debt to? The government, perhaps? But isn’t that supposed to be us? And how would we pay ‘ourselves’ when ALL our ‘incomes’ have already been taken?

For in such an instance the government has taken ALL ‘incomes’ through taxes and prices, even assuming it prices all these goods and services at ‘cost’ ~ with no profit allowed. Because, as we all know, socialists hate profit. They think it’s the ultimate evil. So they’d abolish it, when they take over everything.

Now under the current line of thinking promoted by ALL the Parties, NDP, Liberal, Conservatives, Greens, etc, all ‘costs’ are somebody’s ‘income’, therefore if all goods and services were priced at ‘cost’ that should be equal to all ‘incomes’, both taken collectively.

So then we should be able to buy all those goods and services and fully pay for them from all those incomes, should we not? But then COULD WE? And if we COULDN’T, then just how CAN we EVER pay for them?

We can’t go into debt to anyone, because with the government taking ALL our incomes already, how could we ever repay the debt? Even to the government?

Socialism is no more the answer than the inane call issued by ALL the current Parties for “full employment”. Any country that has to have 100% of it population working to provide all its goods and services is a country riddled with inefficiency. Yet that’s us. When we believe we have to ‘make work’ for those who are bloating government employment rolls far beyond what’s necessary simply to provide an excuse for paying them. Or believe alternately, that they could ALL find jobs elsewhere and ‘save’ us the money we now pay in taxes to supposedly keep them. How long do you think those high paying jobs in mining or the oil patch would last if the 50% now employed by government were out there competing for them with starvation the alternative?