MSABC Supports Commitment to Jobs and Fiscal Discipline in Budget 2012

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Feb. 22, 2012) - The Mining Suppliers Association of British Columbia (MSABC) supports the Government of BC's efforts to accelerate the BC Jobs Plan and maintain fiscal discipline in Budget 2012. "With this budget, the Government is staying on track to meet the BC Jobs Plan target of eight new mines and nine expansions by 2015," said Patty Moore, Chair of MSABC. "In 2010, existing BC mining operations supported 16,590 mining supplier jobs, so as these new projects move forward thousands of new jobs will be created for mining suppliers, contractors and consultants," added Moore. The Government also announced it was on track to meet its BC Jobs Plan targets for reducing the backlog of notices of work for mining by 80 per cent by the end of August 2012, and for water and land-act tenures by 50 per cent by the end of December 2012.

Budget 2012 continued support for key mining-related infrastructure, such as the completion of the Northwest Transmission Line and an extension of the existing cap on municipal tax rates for ports. It also announced enhanced support for small businesses and training, which will help ensure mining-supplier businesses are well-positioned to support new operations across the province. "In addition to the extra $3 million for the Small Business Venture Capital Program and the three-year extension of the Training Tax Credit program, we were also pleased with the announcement of a new strategy to help connect workers with employers having difficulty filling job vacancies in the province's north," said Moore. "With the predicted growth of the LNG and mining sectors in the north, it is important that government and industry work together to ensure projects are not delayed due to labour shortages," added Moore.

MSABC also supports budget measures to eliminate the deficit and return to balanced budgets by 2013-14. "Although we were disappointed that the planned reduction to the small business corporate income tax rate was cancelled, we are pleased that the Government will reconsider the reduction once the fiscal situation has improved," said Moore. "We were also encouraged by the Government's commitment that the temporary, one percentage point increase in the general corporate income tax rate in 2014-15 will only be triggered if our fiscal situation worsens," added Moore.

The Mining Suppliers Association of B.C. comprises suppliers, contractors and consultants to the B.C. mining industry who are committed to promoting the sustainability of this valuable resource sector.