Minister of State for Mining, Kevin Krueger, Where Are You?

Friday, September 28, 2007 04:45 AM

While the Provincial Government Ministers huddle with delegates at the UBCM this week, there is an issue that has been ignored.

This past week, two decisions have been made that may very well have an impact on the efforts to diversify B.C.’s economy. One was a ruling from a Federal court that will change the way one mining operation will proceed, the other, has lead to some very strong statements from the CEO of Northgate Minerals

With the joint panel review saying the Kemess North project should not be approved, Northgate Mineral’s CEO Kenneth Stowe told the Denver Gold Forum the decision had little to do with science and environmental issues, and a whole lot to do with land claims. He says Kemess North was the “sacrifice on the altar of unresolved land claims in British Columbia”. He also made a couple of comments to the Denver Gold Forum, (an event attended by mining firms and investors from all over North America) that raised some eyebrows and one would have thought would put the Provincial Minister of Mines into damage control.

1. Stowe said his company will look towards developing projects in “stable jurisdictions” or in jurisdictions his company believes to be stable.

2 . Stowe said about the recommendation from the Joint Panel Review (a report he said was illogical) “I think this sends a strong message and it’s already been reverberating, not only in B.C. but in Canada.”

Opinion 250 has been trying to reach Mining Minister of State Kevin Krueger for two days. We understand he is at the UBCM. When we first spoke with his public relations rep, we advised we wanted to talk to him about the impact of the statement made by Mr. Stowe.

The next day, we got a call back from the public relations person for the Minister of the Environment saying Minister Penner will not be making any comments on the Joint Review Panel report. We thanked them for their call, but advised, we didn’t want to speak to Mr. Penner, we wanted to talk with Mr. Krueger.

A couple more hours go by, and we get a call back from a rep for Mr. Krueger who was quick to tell us that Mr. Kruger isn’t available, he is at the UBCM and very busy with meetings, etc.

Opinion 250 would still like to hear from you Mr. Krueger.

If this item should happen to come up on your blackberry Mr. Minister, we would still like to hear from you. We just want to know what the Province of B.C.,( in particular your Ministry) will be doing to convince those who are interested in investing, exploring or developing a mine in this province, that we are still open for business and that this jurisdiction is stable?

You can just give us a quick call, the number is 250-962-6397. That’s 250-962-NEWS.

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Posted on Friday, September 28, 2007 04:45 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: acrider54 on September 28 2007 6:19 AM

Like the rest of the Liberal MLA's Krueger is waiting for word from the boss, he's not alowwed to say anything until approved by Gordo, A useless MLA anyway out of the Kamloops area, does nothing just gets his picture taken when somone else gets things done.

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on September 28 2007 8:26 AM

Now don't go jumping all over a guy. How's he going to put the federal government indian industry back in the box?

Posted by: Andyfreeze on September 28 2007 9:20 AM

Yama has a good point, but that doesn't change the fact that ALL Liberal MLA's are handicapped by Campbell's dictatorship.
And the federal government under Harper isn't any better!
If the Liberal party of B.C.truly wanted to succeed over the long term they need a new leader who will be seen as approachable instead of only appearing when there is a good photo opp.
Let's give the credit to the people who actually did the work!
His arrogance is appalling, and he has stayed far too long at the fair!
Time he was tuned up.
The B.C. Liberals do not have an inherent right to govern in B.C.or anywhere else,but that does seem to be the attitude!
They are packing around far too much dead weight considering the dough these guy's get paid,and they get cockier by the day!
I would suspect that policy within the inner circle dictates that nobody breaths without permission.
More effort to communicate is needed by all of them if they want MY support!
The Liberals also need to answer for their attitude towards mining in B.C. in general.
They claim to support it, but their lip service and involvement/redtape say otherwise!
They should in fact be seen as supportive in regards to mining,instead of restrictive!

Posted by: palomino on September 28 2007 9:21 AM

This is starting to feel like we're heading back to the days when the NDP was stomping down hard on anything "mining related" due to it being (in their minds), an environmentally unfrendly activity, and contrary to the aspirations of a lot of those who make up their voting lists.

The result was an unpralleled exodus from the Province of pretty much all but the already established Mining Companies, that has taken almost twenty years to recover from. Just check the stats for mining activity in BC back to the first year the NDP came to power, and the numbers will tell the tale.

I was employed in a mining project myself in those days, that was quickly mothballed within weeks of the NDP victory. Being "inside" on the real reasons for that particular shutdown, I got to see first hand just what can happen when the political atmosphere turns "unfriendly" toward a particular industry.

Generally, those involved go looking elsewhere, where they feel they're more welcome. I hope we're not beginning to see the first signs of this happening here again.

Posted by: owl on September 28 2007 9:59 AM

Supportive of mining?

Supportive of environmental integrity?

Supportive of First Nations� rights?

Supportive of community needs?

Supportive of tourism?

Supportive of the economy?

And supportive of a whole bunch of other issues ..... none given any more support at the loss of another.

So, mining at any cost? no. Any of those at any cost? No .... but some come first in the big view of things. In my mind, mining is not first by any stretch of the imagination. The economy would come before mining. First Nations and Community needs as well as the environment would come before that.

The people come first, and that includes First Nations. Everything else comes after. We have to be able to survive, and part of that includes a healthy environment and a healthy economy. A community based on mining is short lived as we can see from closed mines. A region based on mining has a bit more longevity. A province based on mining even more so.

So, from a provincial point of view, if the province hits a few dud investors who don�t want to do things the way they ought to be done, so be it. They will still get money from mining. From a regional point of view, make sure you support the right investors. Those who do not wish to play by the rules which are set up to protect a multitude of interests, should not be supported. Tell them that right from the get go and don�t make them spend all their time and money on paper exercises which could be seen virtually from the start as having an uphill battle.

The province is not run by the mining interests. They can go back to other parts of the world if that is the only game they can play or they can't play it within the rules set up by society. We can find other things to keep us going.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on September 28 2007 10:27 AM

Nobody is advocating mining at any cost Owl, although I certianly agree with some of what you are saying.
Particularly your second to last paragraph.
That's bang on!
It's also easy to say that the people come first, but that still relates to a sound economy that is progressive and long term.
Mining can be a part of that.
And if the people truly come first,then we need to look ahead,not stay where we are.
In order to move ahead and sustain our economy,we need to diversify and improve do we not?
Todays technology and enviromental controls make mining a much safer and feasable venture that it has ever been in the past.
Time to change our attitude about it.