The City of Thompson has been told they’re not getting any money from the mining reserve fund.
According to a letter from Dave Dyson, the Deputy Minister of Growth, Enterprise and Trade, the balance of the Mining Community Reserve Fund is currently under $10M, which means that the legislation governing it does not allow any money to be given out.
The letter, dated June 1st, is on the agenda for tomorrow afternoon’s LIGA committee meeting, and is expected to be on the agenda for Monday’s regular meeting of Thompson City Council.
The correspondence contradicts a previous report, which said that the Pallister Government would not be allocating any money from the fund since the City has not submitted a long-term plan.
Minister Blaine Pedersen told Mayor Dennis Fenske that he did not have time to meet with Council when the Minister was in town in April, and Thompson MLA Kelly Bindle told Arctic Radio News later that the meeting did not take place as “there would not have been anything new to discuss”.
The Mining Reserve Fund was created to assist mining communities that are affected by partial or complete mine closures, and is funded by provincial mining tax revenues.
