Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome the representatives of the mining industry to Keep Mining in Canada's third annual lobby day.
Mining is the backbone of many communities in northern Ontario, particularly in Timmins where it employs some 3,000 people.
Mining and metals exploration expenditures in Canada reached almost $900 million in 1996. My riding of Timmins—James Bay has paralleled this growth with expenditures rising to $43 million in 1996.
In 1995, the mines in my riding had a production value of $836 million. My riding's economy will benefit even further, with the opening of two new mines, by Echo Bay Mines and Royal Oak Mines.
I am proud to be part of a government that is committed to developing, with the mining industry, policies that will ensure the economic growth of mining communities in northern Ontario and across Canada.