Myopia epidemic continues in St. John's.
------------------>snip<-----------------
thetelegram.com
Inco investors like Grimes
11/30/00
By Michael MacDonald
The Canadian Press
The man widely expected to succeed Brian Tobin as premier of Newfoundland will have more than the provincial caucus onside today when he launches his bid for the Liberal party leadership. Far away, in Toronto’s concrete canyons on Bay Street, investors in mining giant Inco Ltd. believe Roger Grimes is poised to do something Tobin wouldn’t do: sign a deal to develop the fabled Voisey’s Bay mine in Labrador.
Past portfolio Grimes, who is now the province’s health minister, had served as mines minister until January when Tobin shuffled his cabinet, stripping him of the Voisey’s Bay file. The move came two days after Inco said it couldn’t agree to Tobin’s demand that all ore from the proposed mine must be processed in the province. Loyola Sullivan, the provincial Tory House leader, has said the shuffle was needed because Tobin and Grimes couldn’t agree on how to proceed with their Voisey’s strategy.
Some Inco investors suggested Grimes has rejected the former premier’s hard-line approach. Texas investor Jeff Greenblum, for example, recently issued a statement saying Grimes appeared ready to “enter into a realistic mining lease” before he was dumped from the mines portfolio. “The polls would appear to indicate that the people of the province are more interested in the jobs, schools and hospitals that an early development of Voisey’s Bay would provide.” But one investment analyst said Tobin, who quit as premier last month and was immediately appointed federal industry minister, will continue to play a large role in the Voisey’s Bay negotiations.
“He’s been adamantly opposed to everything that’s been proposed to date, and whoever comes on the stage as premier would presumably play a second fiddle to him,” said a mining analyst, who asked not to be named. Grimes did not return phone calls Wednesday. A spokesman at Inco also refused comment.
In the meantime, Grimes must tread carefully: most Newfoundlanders appeared to support Tobin’s efforts to secure more long-term jobs from Inco — even if that meant keeping the project in limbo for decades to come. The Voisey’s project has already been on hold for four years, although the company has continued to explore the remote site south of Nain.
Meanwhile, Grimes’ main rivals for the Liberal leadership have already made it clear they won’t stray from Tobin’s course. Tobin’s approach was the right one, said John Efford, the former provincial fisheries minister, immediately after he became the first candidate to officially announce his candidacy four weeks ago. As for Paul Dicks, expected to launch his leadership bid Friday, he was the one Tobin chose to replace Grimes as mines minister. After taking his ministerial oath, Dicks said he wasn’t about to soften Tobin’s tough stand. The leadership convention will be held Feb. 2-3 in Mount Pearl. Nominations close Dec. 15. After Tobin quit as premier Oct. 16, he was sworn in as a federal cabinet minister, then won the Newfoundland riding of Bonavista-Trinity-Conception in Monday’s federal election. |
