Quebec Auditor General Agrees - Mining Companies Short Change Taxpayers

Comment: People all over the world are fighting uranium mining corporations and their greed, they never clean up the mess they make, they leave the land in shambles and people lives ruin ! Demand Virginia to ban uranium mining and milling now!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Quebec Auditor General Agrees - Mining Companies Short Change Taxpayers
Further to my recent post on how one exploration company active in Quebec and BC last year walked away with $600K in taxpayer money, Quebec's Auditor General confirmed last April a number of facts about the impact of the mining industry in Quebec.

Some astonishing information:

* between 2002 and 2008, 14 of the 24 mining companies operating in Quebec paid zero royalties (in the same period, the annual output of Quebec’s mining sector was $4.2 billion)

*during that timeframe an average of 1.5 per cent of the gross value of Quebec’s mines was paid in royalties the industry paid $109 million for environmental remediation, while the actual costs of cleaning up abandoned mine sites was $352 million,

*leaving Quebec to pick up 69 per cent of the tab, or $243 million file reviews by the Auditor General revealed no trace of collaboration between the department of natural resources and wildlife and the department of sustainable development,

*environment and parks the objective of the Quebec government's encouragement and financial subsidies to the mining industry is job creation yet the employment in Quebec’s mining sector actually dropped by 17 per cent in the last 10 years Quebec is a bonanza for investors who get back in tax credits $716 for every $1,000 they invest in a mining company

*Quebec mines do not respect the three elements of sustainable development: projects must be economically sound, environmentally and socially acceptable to those living nearby

*In the National Assembly, junior minister Simard said the Charest government would introduce “very soon” a new mining strategy with three priorities: wealth creation, respect for the environment and developing mines with the local population.

This is the same mineral strategy that was announced but not delivered back in October 2007. Reportedly it is being released on Monday, June 29, 2009 and will be followed by "consultations" this summer and new legislation in the fall.

We'll see.

Asked for its reaction to the auditor general’s findings by the Montreal Gazette, the Mining Association of Canada did not return phone calls.

Given the circumstances and the general stresses in the Quebec economy, why should, I ask again, taxpayers be subsidizing investors in this sector? What is the "return on investment"? If jobs are being lost and companies are dumping the majority of their remediation costs back onto the average citizen while taking profits out of the province (in many cases) who is protecting the Quebec citizen?

The long overdue Mineral Strategy has a lot to answer for.

See the article in the Montreal Gazette: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Quebec+shortchanged+minerals+auditor+general/1470442/story.html