Minister of Industry, Economic Development & Mines
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Jim was sworn in as Minister of Industry, Economic Development and Mines in the fall of 2004. In this Ministry, Jim worked with other governments and industry to develop the Advanced Manufacturing Initiative, established the Vehicle Technology Centre, enhanced the Composite Innovation Centre and began the cleanup of orphaned and abandoned mines. Many positive developments were implemented to assist businesses in Manitoba; moving forward on cutting red tape, decreasing business taxes, and increasing the supports for new business. |
Listed as specific accomplishments are:
Mines:
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the province is experiencing a mining boom and according to the Fraser
Institute is the third best mining regime in the world. |
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| b) |
San Gold opened the first mine in many years. This mine trained and
employed approximately 65% local First Nations people. |
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| c) |
a 70 million dollar mine clean-up fund was established to allow work to
progress with abandoned mines. Some of the clean-ups are in partnership
with mining companies while other sites have been abandoned for over
50 years. Clean up of these sites started in 2006. |
Oil:
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Manitoba oil production increased with the discovery of the Sinclair Field in 2003. As Minister of Industry, Jim introduced amendments to the Oil and Gas Act so that 3% of oil revenues would go to an environmental fund to clean up areas where necessary. Exploration has begun on the use of sulfuric acid instead of water in wells to sequester green house gases and save water. |
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Business Immigration:
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The business immigration program received 625 applications with 420 people settling in Manitoba to start businesses and purchase farms. This program was recently expanded to encompass settlement services and supports. |
New Industry Initiatives:
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New programs bring together governments and business to enhance productivity, implement new technology and encourage innovation.
Three new programs include:
Advanced Manufacturing Initiative
Composite Technology Centre
Vehicle Technology Centre
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Manitoba now has a very good base for business; lowest cost, great electrical supply and a central location. Manitoba is experiencing a huge economic expansion and the economic outlook continues to be very bright.
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