The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Snow Lake Snow Lake has seen a number of mine closures and openings over the last 20 years. The most recent challenge to its economic future was the closure of New Britannia mine. The reaction of the government was typical in both its predictability and shortsightedness. An economic development officer was hired and a business development office established. And residents were offered assistance to leave the community. From an April 1, 2005 Government of Manitoba news release: The (Snow Lake Travel and Relocation Assistance Program), which will provide up to $325,000 to Snow Lake families, is similar to the measures used to assist families in Leaf Rapids after the 2001 closure of the Ruttan Mine. The community explored various options in trying to re-establish its lost economic base. One possibility that was entertained was the creation of a retirement community. This has been done successfully in Elliot Lake, a former uranium mining centre west of Sudbury. More recently, Snow Lake is considering the possibility of establishing itself as a mining technology centre. And yet again, funding to help people leave the community was provided by the Mining Community Reserve Fund. I repeat, why is money reserved for diversifying the economic base of a mining-dependent community being used to help people move away from it? The recent discoveries of the Lalor and Reed deposits has provided another reprieve for this town's demise. Depending on external factors over which the provincial government has no control, production from the Lalor project, currently under construction, ensures the economic future of Snow Lake for perhaps the next 20 years. And 20 years is an eternity in political terms. By now we have to come to the realization that the provincial government will not provide active assistance to any great degree in diversifying the economy of a mining community, despite there being funds available to do it. Nor, it can be argued, should they. Government bureaucrats often have neither any idea of the realities of northern life nor the dynamics of our economy. It thus remains for us to be proactive and to take charge of our affairs, including our economic future. What the government can provide is financial support for economic initiatives that come from within the community. Such funds for economic diversification are available from the Mining Community Reserve Fund. Thomas H. Heine Flin Flon (The fourth part of Heine's essay will be published next Wednesday, March 27).
