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| Last updated at 10:21 AM on 21/04/08 |
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Gerald Thompson goes through a copy of a letter directed to Kathy Dunderdale, provincial minister of natural resources. The letter outlines the development corporation's call, endorsed by industry, for a mining sector specialist in the central region. |
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Central ignored: EVEDC chair 
Revised work plan questions province's commitment
SUE HICKEY
Advertiser
Central's main development agency has revised its strategic economic plan - and it targets the province's lack of commitment to the region.
Gerald Thompson, chairman of the Exploits Valley Economic Development Corporation, pointed out EVEDC's review of its strategic economic plan for 2007-2010 draws attention to several items, such as the need for a mining sector specialist for the province's central region, and for upgrades to rural provincial highways in the region.
The report also calls on the province to revisit the provincial land use inventory, and expresses the board's disappointment that money allotted in 2006 for improvements to the Mary March Provincial Museum and the Loggers Life Provincial Exhibit has yet to be allocated to those facilities.
With regard to the lack of a mining sector specialist for central Newfoundland, the time has come for this to be addressed, said Mr. Thomp-son.
"There's three or four different aspects of getting mining going in any region, from the prospectors to the investors to the discovery and development," he said. "Business would like to know who to talk to without having the expense of having to travel all the time. Every indication we have on the ground is that they would like to have a sector specialist here. Everyone we've talked to, whether it be Messina, Crosshair, Duck Pond or Celtic, say they have to go outside this region to deal with sector people, and this is the fastest growing sector in this region."
No other sector that has boosted the economic in this region as mining, he added.
Mr. Thompson is concerned about the province's commitment to this region, particularly in relation to mining, citing when Duck Pond held the official opening of the mine, not a single provincial government official was present.
"That shows us a lack of commitment to this region, to the mining sector, and the concerns of the people," he said. "We're only passing on the concerns that have been expressed to us."
Mr. Thompson says however, there's one aspect that is good news from government- the $1.8 million being spent on roadwork for Leading Tickles and the Botwood highway near Northern Arm.
The development corporation is pleased with that, but it contends there's more investment needed on the road to Buchans because of heavy traffic.
"It has to be widened and upgraded," said Mr. Thomp-son. "There are tonnes of minerals trucked to Stephenville everyday. It's something that has to be done and we've spoken to the MHA, Susan Sullivan. She is certainly cognizant of it."
In its revised plan, the development also emphasized the need for the province to revisit the Provincial Land Use Inventory.
"We feel in central Newfoundland, we sit on the cusp of a great land mass that's not used to its fullest extent," he said.
"There are a lot of areas in the province like that. Say we want to get involved to a greater extent in the cranberry and blueberry industry and we have bog land. There's no timber on it, but the area is owned by Abitibi and they won't give it up. This is poor use of the total inventory of our land.
"A well known company has been to the province, says it's a great place for the cranberry industry, but to be feasible they need about 5,000 acres. We need to know what land is available."
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21/04/08
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Rod French from Grand Falls-Windsor, NL writes: I shook my head in disbelief over the comment attributed to Kathy Dunderdale in the April 17th edition ( Minister Defends Lack of Central Mining Specialist ). I can see her reasoning when she says there's exploration going on all over the province. I can accept that she's happy with their model of support for the mining industry. I can understand that government needs to use our resources in a way that makes sense to us . But, the kicker is If the EVEDC is looking for a mining specialist, they had a federally funded position before, (so) that's where they need to go.
It has started to become a pattern with the provincial government that when they are criticized or questioned on some aspect of their policy, they turn the tables back to the federal government. However, in this case the fact remains - there is one provincial Mining Division staff person on the island part of the Province outside of St John's. The Mining industry (companies and prospectors) have indicated to us - the EVEDC, the ground-level agency involved in economic development in this region - that they could use some provincial staff support in this region. We have passed that feedback along to the Minister and encouraged government to assist this industry and this region.
If government chooses not to do so, fine. But don't pass the buck , and don't shoot the messenger. We are only relaying what we hear, and if that is at odds with what the Minister hears, so be it. We think she's wrong and that the central region is not being adequately served in the mining sector. Others agree with us. But to throw the ball into the federal government's lap - when the province has jurisdiction on mining issues - is doing us a disservice. It's arrogant, condescending, and misguided.
The Minister should know that HRDC doesn't provide the funding for these types of positions anymore, and if they did it probably wouldn't be available to RED Boards. Her comments are indicative of the government's attitude toward this part of the province (as outlined in the article featuring Gerald Thompson in the April 20th edition).
Sad, very sad... but true.
Rod French
GFW
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| Posted 22/04/2008 at 3:05 PM | Alert an Editor | Link to comment |
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