The Pros And Cons Of Mining In British Columbia

Mining in British Columbia has been around since the mid-1800s. From the coal mines on Vancouver Island to small placer camps in the interior, the industry has grown to grossing over $8 billion in the last year (BC Mining Facts). Following several relatively major disasters in the past 2 years, Red Chris and Mt. Polley Mines, there has been a significant amount of backlash in the industry. With seemingly huge profits for mining companies and an apparent lack of disregard for the environmental, it is not hard to see why people could seem weary of allowing anymore mines to start up in the province. However, digging deeper into the subject of mining, we will explore some of the many positive effects that benefit our beautiful province. We will

Now decades after closure has just 20 full time residents (Cathro). This is a theme common with many post mine towns in Canada, but many are able to pull out of this slump and continue to function as a normal town. New residents find areas of interest such as hiking, watersports, and premier fishing location with a large amount of salmon coming through the area(Till, J., Ridell, B., Luedke, W., & Ferguson, R.). It is this new wave of activities that attract tourism to the region. Zeballos, a small community on the North coast of Vancouver Island is a good example of this. Once a booming mine town in the 1920’s it is now a destination for open ocean recreational fishing, with huge areas untouched by human contact, it makes for a great location for modern explorers. Many of the best hiking spots in the province would be inaccessible to most residents if not for the roads put in to do this

BC mining industry employed 21,112 workers directly in 2010 (BC Stats) And with a projected labour shortage in the next ten years this means that thousands of families, that would be struggling to pay bills, have an option to make a good wage. This value is then passed on to the communities they live in, buying groceries, new cars, and paying for home renovations help support the local economy.

Critics of this are quick to point out that these new members of the community are taking away jobs from local First Nations bands. According to BC Stats, in 2010 unemployment of non-aboriginal was 13.4% compared to 21.4% for aboriginals (Buliziuk, B.). This is a substantial gap and no doubt reflects more competition for these highly sought after jobs. Recent programs such as the Aboriginal Mentoring and Training Association, or AMTA (Sterritt, L., & Jackson, L.), help provide training for unemployed band members. Government and industry funded programs such as this provide an excellent resource for those who are unemployed and looking to gain skills that are applicable to the work place. There are also many opportunities for mining to benefit First Nations by not only proving jobs, but by the associated economic, and sustainable development of future jobsites. It is important for both government and industry to engage First Nations when mining activities are being considered.