Sarah Mills: 'New' relationship between Ottawa and the west off to rocky start
Sarah Mills says the new relationship between the federal government and the western provinces isn't off to a great star...
Economy Minister Bill Boyd weighed in on the proposed Yancoal potash mine at Southey.
The Chinese owned company is in the stages of developing a mine which could potentially affect many residents in the area.
Boyd said that the government has seen opposition to past projects and added in those projects companies have taken the lead in dealing with the concerns of residents.
“I think we’ve seen opposition initially … but the companies have done a pretty good job in terms of that … perhaps Yancoal needs to do a better job in that.”
Boyd added that there has been a free flow of information between Yancoal and the government.
Boyd said that the government would make sure that any company operating in Saskatchewan operates responsibly.
“If a sovereign funded company that was operating here in Saskatchewan wanted to export potash and wanted export below the world prices that simply would not be allowed.”
In addressing the environmental concerns about the proposed mine Boyd said, “We are very clear with any company that wants to come to Saskatchewan, that is from outside of our boundaries … the protection of the environment is important to us.”
The Minister took time to touch on concerns about work place safety, given what many consider China’s poor record on worker safety.
“Regulations around workplace safety, around workers comp and all of those kinds of things would have to be followed to a letter … here is Saskatchewan.”
The Minister also touched on the potash market as a whole saying that while the world market was still quite soft, the domestic market as well as the U.S. market is quite strong.
