John Rustad, leader of the Conservative Party of B.C., announced his party's mining platform during an appearance at the Kimberley Underground Mining Railway, on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Flanked by local candidates Scott McInnes and Pete Davis, running for Columbia River - Revelstoke and Kootenay-Rockies, respectively, Rustad laid out his plans for the mining industry, which include streamlining permits, reducing regulatory burdens and creating a competitive tax environment.
"The Kootenays has a very long history — and that is a history of mining which is what we’re here to talk about today," Rustad said. "When I think about the mining industry and the mining sector across British Columbia, there is so much potential and that potential is being held back.
"What I mean by that is there is a process that this government has put in place that just takes forever to get something done. It makes it extremely difficult to actually get a mine open in this province."
Rustad cited examples of Australia and Sweden, where he said it takes three and two years respectively, to get a mine open, but noted that in B.C. the process can take 12 to 15 years.
“That to me is unacceptable. As a province and as a world we need resources. We need the copper, we need the critical minerals for everything we’d like to do. Not to mention, we need the jobs, we need to be able to support the workers and the families and the communities that mining supports right across this province.
"B.C. today has about 35,000 people working in the mining sector, it is also the sector that hires the most Indigenous people anywhere in our province. It is one of the safest, if not the safest heavy industry that the province has, and this is why we want to see mining be able to succeed in British Columbia."
Rustad said that there are currently 16 or 17 mines that are prepared to go ahead in B.C., which would represent the creation of between 20,000 to 30,000 jobs, a $38 billion investment and the generation of $22 billion annually in wages and benefits and $11 billion annually in government revenue.
To achieve this, Rustad said his government would move to a single-permit process.
"Let’s get rid of the layers of bureaucracy and process that we have," he said. "We’re going to make sure we maintain the high environmental standards that we have, but we’re going to strip away all of that bureaucracy and process and get to a place where we can get mines approved and get the permitting done in a very short period of time."
When asked how his government would ensure that new mines meet the standards and practices put in place to protect the environment, Rustad said his intention is to "make sure those standards are being met."
"We have very strong environmental standards today, some of the highest in the world and our intention is not to change that," he said. "Any mines coming forward in this province need to meet those current water standards and mining standards, we’re not planning to change any of those standards."
He added that in addition to streamlining the permitting process, his government would implement a policy of 'you build it, you clean it,' with regards to shutting down a mine, and that there would be funding put in place so that the reclamation work would be paid for so nothing is left behind that would "create any sort of problems for future generations."
"Today one in three people in this province are thinking about leaving B.C.," he said. "One in two youth is thinking about leaving this province. This is about creating those opportunities in British Columbia for people to have those good-paying jobs, those family-supporting jobs and being able to stay here in British Columbia and at the same time giving the province the revenues it needs to get back to balanced budgets and be able to make those strategic investments that are needed."
Following the mining announcement, Rustad also fielded media questions over numerous campaign issues.
In particular, he addressed a recently surfaced video in which he said he regrets taking the “so-called [COVID] vaccine.”
"When I talked to (provincial health officer) Bonnie Henry about it, I started to realize that it wasn't so much about, you know, trying to get herd immunity or trying to stop the spread, but it was more around shaping opinion and control on the population," he said in the video.
In Kimberley, he was asked whether he still regrets getting the COVID vaccines.
"After I had the COVID vaccine, about six weeks later, I actually had a heart problem," he said. "I actually got a third shot a number of months later, but through a process when I went in and talked to the health officials about having that, the question they had for me was only one word: ‘Moderna?’
"To me, that tells me that there have been some issues, and so from that perspective, I do regret getting the COVID vaccines."
He was also asked if his government would still provide flu shots and COVID vaccines for free to the residents of B.C.
"Historically I’ve always had a flu shot," he said. "Every year I believe it’s a good thing to have, last year was actually the first year, just because of my schedule, I actually did not take a flu shot.
"From my perspective, those flu shots are available and need to be available especially for vulnerable people, for seniors and the same goes for COVID shots. For people who need them, who are vulnerable certainly the government will pay for those, as they have for things like flu shots. Nothing will change along those lines."
