Employment opportunities in our local nickel
industry have deteriorated badly over the past 40 years. At one
time Inco employed between 16,000 to 20,000 workers. Now the
work force has dwindled to about 4,500.
This represents a loss of approximately
15,000 jobs in our community. With the closure of the copper
refinery, there will be another 140 jobs lost. The municipal
government will also lose $12 million in tax revenue.
I was surprised to read about the recent
opening of a new nickel foam manufacturing plant in China that
is owned by Inco. This plant employs 240 people. What is really
interesting is that the nickel will be coming from Sudbury. The
plant should be located in Sudbury, not China.
I was pleased to see Shelly Martel, our NDP
member, take a strong stand against the closure of the copper
refinery and the shipping of our copper to Quebec for refining.
She is also opposed to outsourcing that creates jobs in foreign
countries.
The time is long overdue for changes to the
Mining Act. We need to protect our resources. What should
happen is that when our minerals are extracted from the ground,
all the processing must be carried out in Sudbury, not in
Quebec or in some other province or country. This policy worked
in Newfoundland. The premier would not sign any deal with Inco
until these conditions were met. Why should it be any different
in Sudbury? It's time our politicians "wake up and smell the
coffee," before we lose more mining jobs. These lost jobs
represent millions of dollars in revenue for our business
community and our municipal government.
Clarence Soule
, Greater Sudbury