TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Improving access to funds for companies so that they continue to invest in new projects, and ensuring support for hard-hit resources-based towns and communities will be at the top of the list this year for Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Lisa Raitt, said in Toronto on Friday.

“Canadians are very concerned about the economy...overall, the economy is number one,” she said in a speech to the Economic Club of Canada.

The Minister's comments echoed remarks made earlier in the day by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who said that the federal government was prepared to do “whatever we have to do” to increase access to credit.

In the run-up to his presentation of the national budget later this month, Flaherty has indicated that the country will run a “substantial” budget deficit over the next year, as it seeks to revive economic growth and shelter ailing industries.

The federal budget “will be designed to provide support for regions and industries heavily affected by the global slowdown", Raitt said on Friday.

“Our government will take deliberate and substantial action on the economy.”

Raitt was appointed to the Natural Resources Ministry on October 30 last year, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveiled his new Cabinet after winning the September Parliamentary elections.

She commented that Canadian companies were facing three external “shocks” over which they had no control – the global economic downturn, the shortage of available credit and low commodity prices.

The mining sector has been particularly hard hit, with dozens of cash-strapped companies announcing they will cancel or defer projects, close mines and lay off increasing numbers of workers.

In the latest in a lengthening list, base-metals miner HudBay Resources said on Friday it would close its Chisel North zinc mine and concentrator in Snow Lake, Manitoba, because of low metals prices and the economic downturn.

A day earlier, Vancouver-based Teck Cominco announced that it would cut its work force by 13%, or 1 400 people, over the course of 2009, in a move to cut costs and conserve cash.

Many towns in Canada are reliant on natural resources industries like mining, and an increasing number of formerly-booming communities are starting to feel the effects of the slowdown and closures.

“For me it [the priority] would be helping the communities and the people on one side, and on the other side, making sure that those credit markets” loosen up, Raitt said.

While seeking to help companies survive the difficult economic environment, it is also important to encourage them to keep investing in natural resources, to ensure the long-term viability of the industries, she added.

According to Statistics Canada data released on Friday the country lost 34 400 jobs in December, which was more than expected. The unemployment rate rose to 6,6%, compared with 6,3% in November.

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