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PDAC e-News and Activities, November 8, No. 29
Page Index
Lobbying intensifies for
continuation of “super” flow-through program
Will funding for geoscience mapping be
forthcoming?
Former Manitoba mines minister appointed as
director, regulatory affairs
Call for applications for Mary-Claire
Ward Geoscience Award
Cross country presentations will describe
changes to NI 43-101
Ontario’s mineral development strategy to
be discussed
Media experts tell how to get your
organization’s story into the news
Lobbying
intensifies for continuation of “super” flow-through program
The Investment Tax Credit for Exploration [ITCE] or “super” flow-through
program is due to expire at the end of 2005. The PDAC is making every
effort to convince the federal government that this program should be
continued and that the economic benefits that it has generated and will
continue to generate far outweigh its cost, particularly in Canada’s
northern regions.
The PDAC is recommending that the federal
government extend the program in a series of rolling three-year phases,
supplemented with annual reviews of the program’s benefits.
Data provided by Canada Revenue Agency show that,
to the end of 2004, the program had cost the federal government
approximately $114 million in foregone taxes resulting from ITCE claims.
The total qualifying exploration expenditures for the ITCE program from
the inception of the program in October 2000 to the end of 2004 were
$1.3 billion. Over the same period, exploration spending in Canada rose
from $497 million in 2000 to an estimated $1 billion in 2004. This
figure is likely to increase to $1.1 billion in 2005.
Our research shows that since the tax credit was
instituted, there have been significant new discoveries, including six
new mines, 225 new mineralization occurrences, and 122 new deposits.
Representatives of the association, including Financial and Taxation
Committee chair Rob Whittall and first vice-president Patricia Dillon,
have held several meetings with ministers, MPs, and government officials
in Ottawa to put the case for the program’s continuation. On November 3,
the association’s president, Peter Dimmell, appeared before the Standing
Committee on Finance during its pre-budget consultations in Toronto to
speak to the importance and value of ITCE.
We will keep you informed.
Will funding for geoscience mapping be
forthcoming?
During its meetings in Ottawa, the PDAC has been appealing to the
federal government to fund the Cooperative Geological Mapping Strategy [CGMS].
PDAC members will remember that this ten-year plan was approved by all
of Canada’s mines ministers in 2000. The strategy involves a regional
approach to public geoscience, promoting cooperation among the country’s
geological surveys, universities and industry. The PDAC’s view is that a
longterm strategy for mapping and mineral deposit studies would make an
important contribution to this country’s geoscience knowledge base and
do much to encourage exploration in remote areas.
Funding of the CGMS would involve a total investment [federal,
provincial, and territorial] of $50 million per year over ten years.
After this year’s mines ministers’ conference, all of Canada’s
provincial and territorial mines ministers signed a letter to federal
finance minister Ralph Goodale supporting the CGMS and appealing to the
federal government to make good on its funding commitment. An Economic
Statement from the federal government is anticipated sometime this fall.
We hope that the CGMS will be part of this statement.
Former Manitoba mines minister
appointed as director, regulatory affairs
The PDAC is delighted to announce the appointment of MaryAnn Mihychuk as
director, regulatory affairs. Ms. Mihychuk will take up her appointment
full-time in January 2006. In the meantime, she has assumed her new
position part-time. Ms. Mihychuk is a former mines minister in Manitoba.
She is also a licensed professional geoscientist and has worked as an
exploration geologist, an industrial geologist and a project development
consultant raising financing for a junior gold exploration company. As
mines minister, Ms. Mihychuk was a strong champion of “super”
flow-through shares, a brief she will inherit with her new position.
Full announcement.
Call for applications for
Mary-Claire Ward Geoscience Award
The selection committee for the Mary-Claire Ward Geoscience Award has
put out a call for applications for this award. Mary-Claire believed
strongly in the economic benefits of geoscience mapping, pointing out in
her many presentations to mines ministers that Canada’s geoscience
knowledge base is one of this country’s key competitive assets. After
Mary-Claire’s death in 2004, her many colleagues in the geoscience
community, the PDAC, Geological Association of Canada, National
Geological Surveys Committee, Watts, Griffis and McOuat Ltd., and the
Canadian Geological Foundation established the award in her memory. It
is given annually and is intended to encourage and support a graduate
student in Canada whose thesis will increase knowledge of our geological
history through mapping in this country. The award consists of a $3,000
cash prize, a certificate, and an opportunity to attend the annual
meetings of the PDAC or of the GAC. The deadline for applications is
December 15, 2005. Application forms and further details about the award
are available on the websites of the PDAC
www.pdac.ca and of the GAC
www.gac.ca.
Cross country presentations will describe
changes to NI 43-101
On October 7 this year, the Canadian Securities Administrators announced
amendments to National Instrument 43-101 along with a new form of
technical report. The changes, which are intended to make the instrument
more user-friendly and practical, will take effect at the end of the
2005. Deborah McCombe, chief mining consultant for the Ontario
Securities Commission, and Greg Gossan of the B.C. Securities Commission
are planning a series of presentations in Vancouver, Toronto, and
Spokane to publicize and explain these changes. Click
here for
schedule. For more information, contact Deborah McCombe at
dmccombe@osc.gov.on.ca.
Ontario’s mineral development
strategy to be discussed
The topic of the CIM Management and Economic Society’s discussion group
session on November 15 will be the proposed mineral development strategy
for Ontario. John Malczak, senior policy advisor in the Ontario Ministry
of Northern Development and Mines will be making a presentation at the
event, to be held at the Ontario Club in the Trillium West room. The
session starts with a cash bar at 4.30 p.m. and John’s presentation will
begin at 5 p.m. For more information, contact Christina Staples,
telephone 416 703 3507.
Media experts tell how to get your
organization’s story into the news
CNW is hosting a media panel session on the business of news on Tuesday,
November 22 from 7.30 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the auditorium of the TSX, 130
King Street West, Toronto. The panel will include Amran Abocar,
editor-in-charge, Canadian Money & Markets, Reuters Canada Ltd.; Joe
Chidley, editor, Canadian Business; and Charlie Lewis, managing editor,
Financial Post. Topics to be discussed: how to get your organization’s
story on the radio or TV news or into the pages of the business section;
what the business editor looks for in a feature story; building
relationships with reporters; the kinds of information TV and radio
reporters need from you when covering a business story. Breakfast is
included, compliments of CNW Group. Register
here or call 1-888-670-2691 for more information. |
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