Make Ontario Competitive – Saving the Mining Sector and Northern Communities

Flow-through tax credits are effective in attracting investment into a jurisdiction.

As a resource based economy all Canadians will benefit from support of mining industries, and it is also crucial for Ontario to follow a similar policy.

resources are a strong growth industry which can supply many jobs and be an economic driver

the industry really needs help and this tax credits is absolutely the best way.

Need government support to an important industry in Ontario

Need to create more jobs

6 years ago Featured

Having worked at Premier Gold Mines since its inception I have seen first hand the benefits of this tax credit. We drilled 50,000 to 100,000 metres per year for more that a decade drill off what is now potentially one of Ontario's next gold mines. This would not have been possible without this tax credit.

This is good for industry and for the charitable sector.

This is an easy policy decision, backed by decades of success stories and analysis. METC fosters economic development, northern and indigenous communities, and a healthy Canadian capital market. Increasingly, accessing METC also yields significant benefits to Canadian charities. Viewed holistically, the derivative tax and other benefits far exceed the costs of the program itself.

Prospecting follows roads. Dalton McGuinty made the wrong decision in 2008 - he should have promised to take all Far North communities off of diesel generators. That would mean electrical grids and roads to service them. The winter roads are failing - all-weather roads will enable a a future in mineral development, enable renewable electrical power for growing communities, build our northern economy and, just maybe, advance reconciliation a little.

Given the high risk nature of our business and the fact that mining is only one of many ventures where investors can place their dollars,its imperative that Ont. remain competitive with other provinces. The money that generated from a discovery is enormous and befits not just local communities but the province as a whole. An example in 2017 the Society of Economic Geologists completed a study on the Kidd Creek deposit that showed that deposit over a fifty year period 1966-2016 had produced minerals valued at 1 billion/year for the last fifty years and still going.This is new money not recirculated dollars.

Lots of great prospects and new discoveries but hard to compete for capital with Quebec and BC without equitable tax treatment.

I have been in the mining sector for more than 20 years including as CFO of Lake Shore Gold which sold to Tahoe and now owned by Pan American. From 2009 to 2012 we financed more than $100 million in exploration expenses through FT shares. Without the FT tax benefits we never would have been able to finance the discoveries which led to the building of the Timmins West mine creating over $500 million in investments and over 500 jobs. Since leaving Lake Shore I have founded a number of companies, most recently Dore Gold in Quebec. In choosing where to deploy capital and develop new discoveries, Ontario is no longer competitive. A big part of the market disadvantage is reduced by a more compelling tax credit regime in line with BC and Quebec. An increase to 25% will go a long way in attracting new capital to Ontario. Most all FT expenses are for direct labour jobs. I know first hand that the tax generated through the FT regime far exceeds the tax lost. I look forward to this government showing real leadership in setting effective policy. The benefits far outweighs any potential downside risk. And like in the case of Lake Shore – it doesn’t matter if the mining company is sold to global investors, the jobs and benefits remain in Ontario.

We need to make this sector competitive - costs of projects has never been higher and it incents responsible mining

Every mine starts with a prospect ! Mines are aging ! Towns are dead without a replacement,need prospector grants or incentives for grubstakes

6 years ago Featured

Minister Rickford needs to provide more incentives for investors to spend in Ontario and become #1 place to explore. The Far North is largely untapped for exploration and the First Nations want all-season roads. It's time.

Invest in mining and create opportunities for growth in Ontario.

Access to exploration funding is the lifeblood of the mining industry. Years of weak junior mining equity markets and competition from ETFs (which don't fund companies), etc. mean cash to fund exploration is very hard to come by. Flow through has, nevertheless, kept the industry on life support. A more competitive METC would attract $ to Ontario, lead to more discoveries, more mines, more jobs, more taxes...

Lets level the playing field!

I find that in Ontario there are to many snags curbing developement. And I support the petition that would enhance development.