BC Conservatives ‘laser-focused’ on mining for revenue [Video]

At a campaign stop in the Interior, the leader of the BC Conservatives heavily promoted the mining industry, pledging reforms he believes would unlock billions of dollars in annual government revenue.

John Rustad told reporters that he plans to fast-track approvals for 16 mines in the application process, unlocking up to $11 billion that would flow into government coffers, with a purported $22 billion in wages and benefits annually. He did not cite a source for those figures.

The current provincial deficit is estimated at $9 billion.

“We need the revenue, we need to be able to make sure we can pay for additional tax relief, we need to ensure we can pay for things like health-care improvements and how we’ll tackle crime and addictions and build that out,” Rustad said. “That means we have to be laser-focused on getting mining open in our province.”

He promised to slash approval times from the current 12- to 15-year process and …