The Ontario Mineral Industry Cluster Council (OMICC) is campaigning against the provincial government's announced decision to protect 225,000 square kilometres of boreal forest under the Far North Planning Initiative.
The OMICC says it is supportive of protecting 50 per cent of Ontario's boreal forest, but believes through "flexible planning" mineral exploration and mine development can continue in the North.
"The consequences of prohibiting mineral exploration and mine development in 50 per cent of Ontario's boreal region, as the government intends, reach far beyond the mineral industry," states an OMICC press release. "They range from; adverse impacts on the Aboriginal communities in terms of loss of employment and development opportunities; the potential loss of exploration expertise to other jurisdictions, a continued decline of base metal reserves in Ontario, a decline of Ontario as an attractive investment destination and impacts on Ontario's economy as a whole."
The OMICC is calling for a the Ontario government to contribute as a down payment $50 million toward resource revenue benefits, develop a new land use planning approach, establish targets for opening new mines and focus on "preservation not merely on protection."
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