Skip to content

Letter: Response to 'One of Us'

In response to Mr. Alex Hanson’s recent letter, I’d like a chance to offer some information to both your readers and Mr. Hanson...

In response to Mr. Alex Hanson’s recent letter, I’d like a chance to offer some information to both your readers and Mr. Hanson regarding the current state of mining here in B.C.

Despite the accusations Mr. Hanson makes in his letter, B.C.’s mining industry is healthy and holds a promising future. The fact is, all industries face challenges and although communities like Tumbler Ridge are struggling as a result of a downturn in commodity prices, the strength of our mining industry will ensure B.C. rebounds.

While Mr. Hanson is correct in that coal prices are at the root of the challenge in Tumbler Ridge, every other assertion he makes regarding those prices is preposterous and devoid of any fact. His assumption that global commodity prices are dictated by perceived slights and imaginary reactions to them may be how he sees fit to operate as a representative of the East Kootenay Labour Council or local United Steelworkers Union, but thankfully is not what international economic systems are built upon.

However, I do hope he took the time to read the May 5 article by Brent Jang in the Globe and Mail referencing a study from the Tokyo-based Institute of Energy Economics. It may help inform him as to the bright future for the global coal market and states that, “coal still plays a crucial role in the global energy mix and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future… The importance of coal use will be all the more important in Asia.”

As to Mr. Hanson’s naming of names, I would suggest that he need only look to his friends in the NDP and their disastrous record on mining in the 1990’s. Under NDP leaders he chooses to revere B.C. closed two mines for every one that opened, and exploration spending was at a paltry $29 million, just six per cent of the national total. Compare that with today when over a billion dollars has been spent on exploration over the past two years and B.C. attracts 19 per cent of the national total, more than three times that of under the NDP.

Mr. Hanson’s wildly inaccurate and reckless comments show just how far out of touch he is with both the mining industry in particular, and working families in the East Kootenays as a whole. I’m proud of our government’s record on mining, and know that once these temporary fluctuations in commodity prices pass, our actions will have positioned the mining industry in B.C. so it can succeed. I wonder if Mr. Hanson can say the same.

Bill Bennett

Kootenay East MLA