INDUSTRY EARNS SUPPORT
Survey finds strong approval for mining in Saskatchewan
People living in Saskatchewan strongly endorse the province’s mining industry, according to a recent public opinion survey done for the Saskatchewan Mining Association.
Ninety-seven per cent of residents believe the mining industry is important to Saskatchewan, including 74 per cent who think it is very important.
SMA president Pam Schwann says the industry is happy to have such strong support in the province, where about 30,000 people are directly or indirectly employed in mining.
“We are strongly and robustly regulated. We are safe. We are good environmental stewards and offer good careers,” she says.
“And we’ve got good public support.”
Fast Consulting conducted the provincewide public opinion survey on behalf of the SMA.
One thousand residents over age 18 were randomly selected and surveyed both by phone and online in the fall of 2016.
The survey has a 95 per cent level of certainty that results are within plus or minus 3.1 per cent of what they would be if the province’s entire adult population were to be polled.
We asked Schwann to interpret the survey highlights.
This is an edited transcript of her comments.
Q Is this the first time you’ve done this survey?
A This is the third time. The first was in 2008 and then in 2012.
Q The report indicates that the mining industry has “social licence” to operate in Saskatchewan. What is the meaning of this for the mining industry and the provincial economy?
A It means we have earned public trust and support to operate. We have demonstrated we are acting in a responsible and sustainable manner, whether it is in respect to the environment or worker health and safety, and demonstrated the direct economic benefits of mining. These benefits are also being shared among residents of the province.
I think the results of the survey show the public agrees. We’ve got over 24 mining operations across the province. More than 30,000 people are directly or indirectly employed. We also have a strong mining supply chain, from transportation to catering to fabrication of machinery. We also see benefit through taxes and royalties. Having a vibrant mining economy really translates into a vibrant Saskatchewan economy.
Q How does this make Saskatchewan different from other Canadian jurisdictions with large mining industries, such as Ontario, Quebec and B.C.?
A The level of support in Saskatchewan is likely a little higher than in other jurisdictions. But mining has a high level of support across Canada. That’s because there is mining in all jurisdictions except Prince Edward Island, so people are familiar with operations and see how the community benefits. Canadian mining companies and suppliers are global and have very good standards. When they operate abroad they bring those standards with them.
Q Based on the survey, do Saskatchewan residents have an accurate picture of the industry? If not, where are the weak spots?
A I think they do. But there still may be misconceptions about the use of technology and safety.
If you are working deep underground and you can’t easily get to surface, you want to make sure you are engineering safe work environments. The mining industry really puts a lot of effort into reducing risk through safe work practices and by engineering safety into their operations.
The mining industry is statistically one of safest industries to work in — safer than health, safer than education.
On the technology side, the public doesn’t often see the highly innovative, early adopters of computer technology and robotics. We have automated mining machines, remote control mining and we’ve got electric vehicles such as man carriers in potash mines and we use aerial drones to map out the footprint of mine operations.
Q The public expresses its strongest confidence on the jobs and economy, but is less sure about the industry’s openness and its environmental stewardship. What does the industry need to do to improve on these fronts?
A I think we have to get better at explaining what we are doing and why. We all have a vested interest in making sure we are good at environmental stewardship. The industry is also highly regulated from where you start mining all the way to what we call post-decommissioning.
I think we could probably do things like meeting with communities throughout the life of a mine, rather than just at the front and back ends. Also, we need to be better at explaining technical information in a way that’s understandable. I think we are behind on some social media communication tools.
If you look at the amount of environmental activity and monitoring done by mine personnel, and the number of inspections, and how the mining companies are in compliance with regulations — there really aren’t environmental issues.
But the public needs to be assured that companies are conforming to regulations.