The Terrace Standard, “bina March 30, 2005 - A7 grumeua 635 cTIPS Mineral men take aim | at NDP assertions TWO. MINING officials” visiting the: northwest last week took issue with — comments made by Carole James, the leader of the | SESE SSS SILI OG > ‘ and have your bottle delivered. COAST INN LICENCED LIQUOR STORE 4620 Lakelse Avenue,’ Terrace Open 7 days a week 9am to 11pm ‘ae part of your wedding plans... to stop by Gemma’s and the First Nation’s Store to register. provincial NDP . party, SNAAAAAARAUARANRARRRND fj who was also touring the mS northwest. 4 James’ statements that B.C.’s economy is only ben- efitting from good interest’ rates and rising commodity ~. prices is not true, says BC’s minister of state for mining, : Pat Bell. “For her to say it's all ‘tied « to high commodity prices is | -not accurate,” said Bell, a Prince: George MLA, last week. While rising | commodity prices are indeed contribut- ‘ing to increased investment in areas such as mining ex- ploration, Bell says chang- ° ing givernment policies are | key to fostering economic. . investment. _ That sentiment was echoed by Michael Mc Phie, president of the Mining As- sociation of BC, who was. : also here last week, “You have to have a | healthy market with strong’ prices,” he said. “But the second critical thing is you: need strong policies to at- ‘tract investment.” _ _ He said in 2000, B.C. was attracting just 5 per cent of the total amount of money spent nationallly on mineral exploration. Now, that num- ber has risen to 12 per cent. He said changing gov- ' Michael Mc Phie , write-offs for company ex- penditures on exploration and geoscience translate into amore positive environment for investors looking at eX- ploration here. And attracting more éx- ploration to northern B.C..is critical to creating economic spin-offs. for communities _ such as Terrace who will benefit from money spent on: goods and services. The Kemess. North mine located northeast of Terrace is estimated to contribute $2 million on goods and ser- vices in the Bulkley- Stikine region, he said. That type of economic spin-off coould be good for the Terrace area as well, given that there are 105 . projects currently ~ under consideration in this part of _ the province, he said, adding Pat Bell geoned under a supportive _ regulatory environment. “In 2001, when I moved — - back to B.C. from Ontario, there was only one project in any stage of development,” he said. “Now there are 13 * in various stages of develop- ment.” Both he and Bell are hop- « ° -ing to, see those numbers increase. And if. that is to. - happen locally, people here’ ‘need to be trained to workin _ the field. ' The provincial govern- ment announced March 24 it’s giving $360,000 to” Northwest Community Col-_ . lege for four mining related - courses. Those courses will be offered in Smithers. The programs will train - northerners-in an introduc- tory. mining, prospecting, : field work and in diamond — drilling. » ak b » be ee D » ‘Check Out Our! 4 . ‘i g » » . & > > . » 6 ’ & b b ¥ > RR RISES SOS Bed, Bath & Kitchen Boutique First Nation's Store Where QualityMakes The Ditlerence eee oa % > 1 LD ¥ D> ¥ ’ % % t ¥ » ¥ > 2058-85 II PK ISO2O=0292 ¥ D ¥ D . te y D D » D Ie eYeTereTeTeTeTeverer rer. BOARD SHOP. ernment regulations and tax Banking for Business Owners _ ” | Small business owners the mineral industry hast bur-: April Ist, 2nd and 3rd have big plans, bi g ideas. T hey Streetwear 05 Swimwear, Shoes and oo fae aay 10% OFF SKATEBOARDS | 50% OFF 2004 SWIMEAR | BUY 1 GET 1 FREE SALES RACK 40-50% OFF ALL REMAINING | _ Snowboards, outerwear, gloves, goggles, wax and more... have a big impact. 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