If industry has a strong, influential role in the process, a new system which delivers well-skilled employees in shorter time-frames might be achievable. It is imperative though, that quality, and most importantly safety, is not compromised.

Canada has the world’s highest rate of university attendance, but graduates have one of the lowest rates of finding “high skill level” employment... It’s way past time for universities to abandon their ivory towers and consider the needs of employers and the future of their students.

The proposed merger of TMX Group and the London Stock Exchange has provoked uncharacteristicallystrong and diverse reactions within the financial community. Those mixed views were clearly displayed during four days of hearings on the deal before the select committee of the Ontario Legislature. How they will judge the strong arguments for and against the deal in their report later this month is anyone’s guess. Whatever their verdict, and those of the review processes yet to come, we must remember that Toronto is the global leader in mining and metals financing, with TMX playing a significant role. With or without this deal, all sides agree on the need to retain that leadership.

Ontario’s mining industry is facing a perfect storm of skills shortages – mining engineers and geologists – at a time of severe provincial budget constraints. These fiscal problems will only diminish the mineral sector’s post-secondary education programs at a time when global economies are experiencing the most extraordinary demands for metal products in the history of mankind – a commodity super cycle