by Greg Klein | April 24, 2017

With a British Columbia election underway, the province’s Vote Mining campaign spotlights a key industry. A non-partisan program, its backers maintain, it’s a way to raise awareness of mineral exploration and extraction by three advocacy groups: the Mining Association of B.C., the Association for Mineral Exploration and the Mining Suppliers Association of B.C.

Jobs became an election focus as soon as the writ dropped. Hoping to avoid a 2013 replay, the NDP this time seems determined to match the incumbent BC Liberals’ attention to the issue. That would make mining and exploration all the more prominent when, according to the Mining Suppliers Association, over 30,000 direct and indirect B.C. jobs stem from the sector.

As MABC president/CEO Karina Briño pointed out, “Mining contributed $7.78 billion to the B.C. economy in 2015 and contributed $476 million in payments to government, supporting important social programs such as schools and hospitals.”

VoteMining.ca provides plenty of digestible info on mining’s contribution to B.C.’s economy and revenues, the wide range of jobs, skills and professions involved, the sector’s importance to First Nations and virtually every region of the province, as well as the province’s importance to global mining.

The website also offers a list of suggested questions to ask candidates and links to four party platforms. Infographics by Visual Capitalist provide, for example, a crash course in mining equity financing and some examples of our dependency on mined commodities.

“B.C.’s mineral exploration and mining industry remains a major driver for the provincial economy,” noted AME president/CEO Gavin C. Dirom. “As partners in the Vote Mining Campaign, we wish to provide British Columbians with factual information that will showcase how important it is for candidates and voters to support such a critical industry that creates local opportunities for people living in every region of the province.”

Follow Vote Mining on Twitter: @VoteMining