Latest news with #economicdevelopment
CBC
3 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
New gold and silver mine officially opens in central B.C. as premier faces backlash for fast-track plans
A new 44-square kilometre gold and silver mine has officially opened in the province's central Interior. Blackwater mine, located 112 kilometres southwest of Vanderhoof, B.C., west of Prince George, will be operated by Vancouver-based Artemis Gold and is expected to generate more than $13.2 billion, including $2.3 billion in provincial revenue, over its lifetime, the company said. "British Columbia is going to be the economic engine of the new Canada," Premier David Eby said in remarks at the opening, citing the province's "amazing resources." Eby was joined at the opening by Minining Minister Jagrup Brar, as well Acting Chief of the Lhoosk'uz Dené Nation June Baptiste and Ulkatcho Councillor Corinne Cahoose. The mine was approved after the province signed an economic and community development agreement with the Lhoosk'uz Dené Nation and Ulkatcho First Nation — on whose territories Blackwater is located — to share mineral tax revenue from the mine. The province says the nations have been engaged in all aspects of the project, from exploration, to permitting and environmental assessment, while the mine's owners and both nations have a project participation agreement in place. Artemis says 400 people are already employed at the mine site, about a quarter of whom are Indigenous, with employment forecast to grow to 800 during construction of phase two, which will create an additional 170 permanent jobs. Premier addresses backlash At the opening, Eby acknowledged the criticism his government has faced in recent days from First Nations over legislation aimed at fast-tracking new economic development projects, including mines, which critics worry will override environmental safeguards and the need for Indigenous consultation. "If we want to move quickly we're not going to be able to do it without strong partnerships with Indigenous people and we're not going to do it at the expense of our environmental commitments," he said. "That will always be the case as long as I'm premier." The opening came on the same day that British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee withdrew from an upcoming trade mission to Asia over the province's passage of bills 14 and 15, aimed at fast-tracking resource projects. "How can we participate in trade missions to promote resource development when this government has just rammed through legislation that tramples our rights and threatens our territories" Teegee asked in a written statement.
Wall Street Journal
9 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
It's High Times for State-Subsidized Pot Businesses
State and local governments have a long history of using taxpayer dollars to subsidize bad economic development projects—everything from movie productions to sports arenas to industrial facilities. Now those governments are pumping tens of millions of public dollars into an even worse idea—legal pot businesses—as scientific studies increasingly demonstrate the health risks of regular marijuana use. Since 2012, advocates in 24 states have successfully engineered legalization campaigns by arguing that commercialization would bring marijuana businesses out of the shadows, produce safe, state-supervised weed for recreational use, and swell government coffers. Predictably, pot use has soared. The portion of the population 19 to 30 using pot in the past 30 days has increased to 28.7% from 16.6% since 2012, according to the University of Michigan's national survey on drug use. Among those 35 to 50, it's risen to 19.2% from 7.6%.
Al Arabiya
15 hours ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Ethiopia, IMF reach staff-level agreement on third program review
Ethiopia and the International Monetary Fund have reached a staff-level agreement on the third review of the country's $3.4 billion loan program from the lender, the IMF said in a statement.
Zawya
20 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Jordan ranks 2nd among 7 Arab countries on global entrepreneurship monitor
AMMAN — Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship on Thursday released the Jordan National Report on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024-2025. The report, launched in cooperation with the German Jordanian University (GJU) and the Jordan Strategy Forum, showed "remarkable" progress for the Kingdom in a number of entrepreneurship indicators. Minister of Economy and Entrepreneurship Sami Smeirat said that the results reflect the government's commitment to supporting the environment of entrepreneurship, stressing that "accuracy" in data is the "basis" for effective policies, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. GJU President Alaadeen Halhouli said that survey researches contribute to understanding the real status of entrepreneurship and better directing programmes. The report is part of project "Entrepreneurship for sustainable economic development and employment in Jordan", implemented by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) with the support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the EU. Among seven Arab countries participating in the report, Jordan came second on the total early-stage entrepreneurial activity, with a large drop in the gender gap from 9.2 per cent down to 3 per cent. Jordan also ranked second on the Existing Business Ownership Index, indicating the sustainability of entrepreneurial projects. The report recorded improvements in the enabling environment for entrepreneurship, particularly in indicators of market dynamics, government policies and support programs, and regulation of market entry. Also on Thursday, the ministry, GJU and the forum signed an agreement that aims to enhance the research capabilities and encourage regular participation in the report. © Copyright The Jordan Times. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
East West Rail public events see thousands share thoughts
Nearly 6,000 people took part in a consultation exercise on the new East West Railway line that will ultimately link Oxford to Cambridge. There were events at 16 locations along the proposed route between November 2024 and January 2025. At the events, East West Rail presented information on work to upgrade the existing line between Oxford and Bedford, as well as the proposed new line between Bedford and is the third non-statutory consultation that has been carried out, and will help inform the final design, which will be presented for consideration next year. The highest level of interest came from people who attended the events in Comberton, Great Shelford and Cambourne in Cambridgeshire. People largely saw the new route as good for the UK's economic development and felt it could drive up local property values, especially in areas like Bicester and Cambourne. They also felt it could address housing shortages, with more development near the new stations in Bedfordshire and was concern about the demolition of homes, disruption and negative impacts on businesses and house prices during a prolonged construction phase, as well as the visual impact of the were questions too about some station designs, changes to major roads and bridges in Bedford and Bicester, and the environmental impact of a viaduct over the River Great Ouse West Rail said its technical team would now be going through the comments in detail to see if there were any refinements that could be made to the designs. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
