Thank you, Mr. Chairman, committee members, ladies and gentlemen.
Our province's mines will create $2.6 billion of new wealth for Canada this year. Of course, a lot of that will end up in various government coffers through taxation. We have the potential to increase this contribution to the economy through higher levels of investments in exploration, which will lead to new mines.
In this province, all our mines are located in rural and remote areas—of course, that's true for most of Canada—and most of our mineral production comes from Labrador. I'd like to highlight the Voisey's Bay mine in Labrador, as an example of the enormous positive impact that mining can have on rural, northern, and aboriginal communities.
This project alone has stimulated resolution of the Labrador Inuit land claims and progress on the Innu claim. It has resulted in the creation of a large number of aboriginal companies that have received over $500 million in procurement and construction contracts for the project. Some of these companies have continuing contracts with the mine, and some have gone on to seek other opportunities. Currently 52% of the Voisey's Bay Nickel Company workforce in Labrador is aboriginal. Clearly this mine has made a significant difference to the outlook for the aboriginal and other communities of the region.
Now we must stimulate investment in Canadian exploration. We need new discoveries to maintain Canada's pre-eminent position in the global mining industry, and we need to expand the economic opportunity that mining creates for our rural, remote, and aboriginal communities.
There are two things that the federal government can do to help. The first is to invest in geoscience, since up-to-date geoscience data is critical for successful exploration. Unfortunately the resources provided for geoscience surveys by both federal and provincial governments have declined significantly over the past 10 to 15 years. Updated geological information is important for areas of current interest, while parts of Labrador, for instance, have never been adequately surveyed.
We urge the federal government to fund the cooperative geological mapping strategies, CGMS, as soon as possible. It's a 10-year, cost-shared plan that has been developed by the provincial, territorial, and federal governments to fund geoscience. Our provincial government has indicated strong support for this project, and I'm sure if it were approved by the federal government, they'd have their chequebook open.
The second thing is to adopt a mineral exploration tax credit on a permanent basis. This program is often called the super flow-through program, and it is due to expire in 2007. The reason for this is that these days most exploration is conducted by relatively small exploration companies that are dependent on the capital markets to fund their projects. There's fierce global competition for this high-risk capital. The super flow-through program provides a significant incentive to invest in the high-risk grassroots exploration that is critical for new mine discovery. At the same time, this program ensures that the capital remains in Canada to ensure our domestic industry's future.
I'll conclude there. Thank you very much for your attention.