NATURAL RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT A PRIORITY
Canadian Government wins re-election. Positive for mining?
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative Government easily won re-election Tuesday, which may prove a positive political development for the Canadian mining sector.
Author: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: Wednesday , 15 Oct 2008
RENO, NV -
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper led his Conservative Party to a victory Tuesday, but appeared to have failed to gain enough seats in Parliament to win a majority government.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. predicted that the Conservative Party would not win the 155 seats needed to govern on its own. Harper had called elections early in the hopes of securing a majority.
As of 11 p.m. Pacific Time Tuesday night, the Conservatives had won 45.1% of the popular vote, which the CBC said gives Conservatives a 20-seat increase in Parliament from the last federal election. When the election was called in early September, the Conservatives held 127 seats, the Liberals held 95, Bloc Quebecois held 48, the New Democratic Party had 30 and the Greens held one seat.
The first major world leader to experience an election since the global financial crisis, Harper had campaigned on an economic platform. The Liberals and Greens had campaigned on global warming and what was considered a "highly unpopular" carbon taxation proposal.
Coincidentally, among Harper's campaign promises was a pledge to prohibit the export of bitumen to countries outside of Canada that do not have equivalent greenhouse gas emission targets. In a statement, Harper had said "we cannot allow companies to increase exports of raw bitumen simply in order to avoid Canadian emissions standards as they are strengthened over the next few years. Nor can we afford to export the jobs and spin-off industrial opportunities by the upgrading of bitumen."
Bitumen is the heavy, black viscous oil produced from Canadian oil sands must be treated to turn it into an upgraded crude oil, which can then be refined to produce gasoline and diesel fuels. The policy would take effect in January 2010, but would only apply to new export deals.
Harper also pledged that the Canadian Government will expand its geo-mapping program to provide Canadians with a more comprehensive assessment on the extent of mineral and energy resources in the Canadian North.
"We know from over a century of northern resource exploration that there is gas in Beaufort, oil in the Eastern Arctic, and gold in the Yukon. There are diamonds in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, and countless other precious resources buried under the ice, sea and tundra," the prime minister said in August. "But what we've found so far is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Managed properly, Canada's share of this incredible endowment will fuel the prosperity of our country for generations. And geo-mapping will pave the way for the resource development of the future."
Harper also intends to establish a new stand-alone regional development agency to cover Northern Canada, consolidating existing northern development activities from Indian and Northern Affairs and other federal departments into one agency. He also aims to cut red tape by significantly improving regulation of northern natural resource projects, including process simplification, increased transparency, greater consistency and reduced administrative costs.
The prime minister has also taken steps to ensure Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic, such as building an Arctic deep-water port and vessels to patrol Arctic waters.
The offshore riches under the Arctic waters - including oil and gas reserves - have led Russia, the United States and other countries to make claims on the ocean floor. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the Arctic is a vital part of Russia's economic future.
Liberals and the NDP have both criticized the Conservative Government's approach in asserting arctic sovereignty.
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