Mayor Paul Lefebvre deserves credit for committing the city to real economic development. As one of the world's largest integrated mining complexes and easily the cleanest, Sudbury is the natural place to locate new smelting and refining facilities.
The mayor has started to fight for the city's future as the beating heart of Ontario's mining sector (See “Why Sudbury can be a critical minerals processing hub to the world”, published March 28).
He needs to go farther. We need to make Sudbury the provincial champion in all mining-related education and research. The city has to lean in.
This is the time to start reeling in American specialists fleeing Trump's America. This is the time to be investing in geologists, mining engineers, mineral and mining economists and digitization experts to support growing companies.
If we want to be a global leader, we can't focus on mines; we have to focus on finding, building, and supplying mines.
To make sure we have the most advanced manufacturers and miners in the world, the industry needs a program to adopt technology. It should be at Laurentian University.
The federal government understands that technology adoption is a major problem for Canadian businesses.Senior governments will provide money if Sudbury steps up with the solution. It will take a loud, strong voice hammering home the idea that Sudbury is the place to train the professionals and the labour force that will make the next mining boom happen.
The city alone can't make Sudbury into the province's mining capital. It will need to build an alliance of companies, Laurentian University and other political actors.
Mayor Lefebvre should create and lead a “Sector Council” dedicated to making Sudbury the provincial centre for everything related to Northern Ontario's mineral wealth. The province needs Sudbury to go beyond talking about mines and smelters, and to become the brains of the mining industry in Ontario.
Dr. David Robinson
Greater Sudbury