OTTAWA, July 4, 2017 /CNW/ - The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) applauds the launch of the Trade and Transportation Corridors Initiative (TTCI), the most recent component of the federal government's nation-building infrastructure plan.
"The federal government has made a significant commitment to Northern Canada through the Trade and Transportation Corridors Initiative," stated Pierre Gratton, President and CEO, MAC. "Such strategic leadership by Minister Garneau should be commended."
With this plan, a total of $2 billion over 11 years has been allocated to invest in the critical assets that support economic activity and the physical movement of goods and people in Canada. Notably, the merit-based program includes a specific allocation of up to $400 million in dedicated funding for Northern transportation infrastructure.
Building off the creation of the Remote and Northern Communities fund, and the establishment of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, Prime Minister Trudeau and his government have communicated an unprecedented vision for how infrastructure will transform remote and northern Canada—regions that are critically important to, and reliant on, Canada's mining sector.
"We believe the government's commitment to northern infrastructure investment is both bold and essential for Canada's long-term economic growth, and certain to help attract new private sector investment," stated Gratton.
The mining industry is ideally situated to generate significant and meaningful employment, spin-off business and other social and economic opportunities for Indigenous and remote and northern Canadians. In the territories, for example, the mining industry is the single largest private sector employer of Indigenous peoples and customer of indigenous-owned businesses, and the leading contributor to GDP.
The acute lack of infrastructure in Canada's remote and northern regions is inhibiting further sustainable mineral development due to the high costs of exploring, building and operating in these regions. MAC co-authored a recent study that found that it costs about 2 to 2.5 times more to build a gold or base metal mine in northern Canada off grid than in the south as a result of the lack of infrastructure. Northern communities are also themselves dependent on carbon-intensive diesel power and often lack basic infrastructure Canadians in southern Canada take for granted.
About MAC
The Mining Association of Canada is the national organization for the Canadian mining industry. Its members account for most of Canada's production of base and precious metals, uranium, diamonds, metallurgical coal and mined oil sands, and are actively engaged in mineral exploration, mining, smelting, refining and semi-fabrication. Please visit www.mining.ca.
SOURCE Mining Association of Canada (MAC)
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