Canada's Trudeau promises bright future for mining
Published by MAC on 2020-03-05Source: mining.com
He seeks it here - he seeks it there!
That seems to be what the Canadian president is up to as he tries to reconcile his "zero carbon emissions by 2050" promise with the mining industry's future plans [for earlier article, see: Trudeau's Teck dilemma ].
Trudeau says mining can help fight climate change
Jackson Chen
mining.com
2 March 2020
The Canadian government will extend the business tax deduction for
zero-emission vehicles and equipment to cover mining operations, Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday afternoon, as he believes the
sector still has an important role to play in the fight against climate
change.
Speaking in Toronto to a convention hosted by the Prospectors &
Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), Trudeau stated that his
government would be seeking input from business and industry on how to
achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
“Around the world and right here in Canada, the debate between
environment and economy is becoming increasingly contentious and
polarized,” Trudeau said. “I think we can all agree that it’s unhelpful
for polarized views to define the battleground of a debate.”
The Prime Minister pointed to both the recent decision by global
investment giant BlackRock to focus on climate change and the
environmental concerns raised by Teck Resources’ Don Lindsay when the
chief executive officer announced his company was withdrawing its
application for the Frontier oilsands mine.
During last year’s election campaign, Trudeau made the commitment to
pursue net-zero emissions, promising to draft a plan to achieve it and
to introduce legislation that would set out a series of interim targets.
He also vowed to show how the nation is to meet its emissions targets
for 2030.
Commenting on the role Canada’s mining sector would play in achieving
its climate goals, Trudeau argued that “a thriving mining industry and a
thriving natural resource sector don’t have to be impediments to
fighting climate change.”
“To produce high-density batteries and wind turbines, you need copper,
nickel and cobalt,” he added. “To build a solar panel, you need 19
metals and minerals. Canada is home to 14 of them.”
Under this new incentive, vehicles would need to be available for use
before 2024 to be eligible for an income tax deduction of 100%. The
deduction allowance would decrease to 75% for 2024 and 2025, and 55% for
2026 and 2027.
Vehicles that are not available for use before 2028 would not be
eligible for the accelerated deduction allowance.