On Sunday March 1, 2015, the Honourable Joe Oliver, Federal
Minister of Finance addressed the Prospectors & Developers
Association of Canada ("PDAC") at the annual PDAC
Convention in Toronto and announced certain proposals aimed at
bolstering Canada's junior mining industry. First, the
Government has announced that it intends to extend the 15% Mineral
Exploration Tax Credit ("METC") for flow-through share
investors for an additional year. The METC was scheduled to expire
on March 31, 2015. The METC was first introduced in 2000 as a
temporary measure which expired in 2003. Since 2003, the Department
of Finance has extended the METC annually, one year at a time.
The Government has also modified its previous position with
respect to the types of expenses that will qualify as Canadian
exploration expenses ("CEE"). Expenses which qualify for
CEE treatment are 100% deductible in the year they are incurred.
Additionally, certain types of CEE may be renounced to
