Of Canada’s main mining jurisdictions, Ontario has the poorest record for retaining royalties or mining-tax revenues. This is thanks to a mining tax based on profit with generous tax credits to reduce profits for tax purposes, low tax rates and tax holidays. In response to calls from MiningWatch and others like the United Steel Workers, the Liberal government’s 2012 budget committed to reviewing the tax rates. Last fall MiningWatch met with staff working on the review, but they could not say what timeline they were on to complete it.
Over a year later there was still no sign of the review. MiningWatch continued to raise the issue during the 2013 pre-budget period including an op-ed in the online version of the Toronto Star. We were also pleased to see that the Ontario Federation of Labour’s People’s Budget included a call for increasing the mining tax. The 2013 Budget included a commitment to release a review within months. We will keep waiting for government’s analysis and continue our own work on this issue to ensure it doesn’t fade from sight!