Mr. Speaker, we all believe that developing a strong economic base for this country is the key to global competitiveness.
As a British Columbian, I urge the members of this House to recognize the importance of the mining industry to all Canadians. The government's 1995 budget made a first step toward improving our mining industry's ability to maintain and create jobs for Canadians.
Besides providing 400,000 direct and indirect jobs in Canada, mining sustains 150 Canadian communities and their one million residents, thus having a great impact on their daily lives in future.
Besides adding $10 billion to our annual trade balance, mining contributes $20 billion a year to the Canadian economy and accounts for 14.8 per cent of Canada's total exports. Mining is therefore a key engine for the export driven economy, jobs and growth benefiting all of Canada and not only those who live in mining regions.
Canada is seen by the rest of the world to be a country blessed with the wealth of natural resources. The interest and support of this House in developing an environmentally sound and sustainable mining industry-