Mining Activity in Manitoba 



After the slump experienced in the Cana- 

 dian mining industry in 1921 it is gratifying to 

 observe on all sides a resumption of accustomed 

 movement. Whilst this promise is fairly gen- 

 eral all over the Dominion it is most pronounced 

 in Northern Manitoba, Canada's newest mining 

 field and one of its potentially greatest, and 

 mining men are convinced from indications that 

 this section is about to experience a season of 

 activity previously unreached. This is not a 

 boom in the wild-cat sense but activity fully 

 justified by developments, discoveries, and the 

 capital which is going into the district. 



Le Pas, Northern Manitoba's capital and the 

 gateway to the great mineral fields, has been a 

 seething hive of bustle and stir since the opening 

 of the new year as prospectors and representa- 

 tives of mining companies arrived and departed. 

 Racing teams have been utilized for taking pros- 

 pectors and prospective stakers out to Elbow 

 Lake and other districts, whilst dog teams are 

 continually bringing back men anxious to record 

 their claims as rapidly as possible and hasten 

 back to watch developments. As many as seven 

 dog teams have left in a single day. In the 

 month of December alone seventy-eight claims 

 were recorded at the Lands' Office at Le Pas, and 

 the early indications were that January's figures 

 would exceed those of the previous month. 



Influences Contributing to Development 



Several factors have contributed to bringing 

 about this new interest and development in the 

 Northern Manitoba field. First amongst them 

 is perhaps the action of the influential Hollinger 

 interests of Ontario in taking over the Murray 

 claims at Elbow Lake, which resulted in a marked 

 impetus to staking in that district. The Mont- 

 real engineer who secured the claims for the 

 Hollinger interests stated that the find of the 

 Murray Brothers was important, and that if it 

 would average, it was the greatest thing he knew 

 of. 



Reports of several new important finds in 

 Northern Manitoba have added to the excitement 

 prevailing and the most influential interests are 

 investigating and staking. Among those to 

 stake claims recently were representatives of the 

 Tonopah Company and the London Exploration 

 Company. Meanwhile Canadian promoters in 

 England have encountered a confidence in the 

 Manitoba field and met with a gratifying success 

 in securing the necessary capital for development. 

 According to all reports from across the Atlantic 

 this winter a substantial amount of money is ex- 

 pected to be brought into Manitoba in the spring. 



Canada's Fisheries in 1921 



Fisheries in the waters off both coasts of 

 Canada in 1921 produced a revenue of $18,866,- 

 062 as compared with $26,857,952 in the pre- 



vious year. Several causes combined to effect 

 this slump in the Dominion's fisheries' revenue, 

 possibly the most pronounced of which was the 

 falling off of a large part of the demand for Cana- 

 dian fish which had been created purely by war- 

 time conditions. The drop in the market price 

 of the product also had considerable effect in 

 reducing revenue, whilst the Fordney Tariff, 

 impending for some months, was felt in general 

 discouragement. Fishermen seeing this outlet 

 largely closed slackened their efforts accordingly, 

 having no assurance of a market for their catch. 

 British Columbia continued to lead the prov- 

 inces of Canada in the matter of value of sea 

 fisheries with a revenue of $8,359,026. Nova 

 Scotia at the other extremity of the continent 

 took second place with a value of $6,738,309. 

 The value of the New Brunswick sea fisheries 

 was $2,073,615; Quebec accounted for $1,244,- 

 704; and Prince Edward Island $451,408. 



Varieties and Values 



Salmon continued to maintain a healthy lead 

 as Canada's greatest fish revenue producer, 

 accounting for a total value of $5,040,022. Cod 

 was next with $3,554,130; halibut accounted for 

 $3,403,936, and lobsters for $2,962,487. The 

 only other fish to exceed the million dollar mark 

 was the herring with $1,098,681. Mackerel pro- 

 duced a revenue of $776,960; smelts $713,660; 

 haddock $436,701 ; hake and cusk $113,552, and 

 oysters $92,977. 



British Columbia's most valuable fish was na- 

 turally the salmon with a revenue to the province 

 of $4,412, 239, followed by halibut with $2,996,- 

 242. Cod led in Nova Scotia with a value of 

 $2,614,257, followed by $2,076,032 for lobsters. 

 Quebec's first fish is the cod with a value of 

 $631, 933 and, second, salmon $157,028. Smelts 

 and lobsters were nearly equal in New Brunswick 

 with a value of $522,016 and $513,556 respec- 

 tively. The first revenue producer among Prince 

 Edward Island's fish is the crab with an annual 

 revenue of $228,926. 



Canada's Fisheries Sound 



In her fisheries, comprising the waters off both her 

 coasts, and the vast aggregate area of inland lakes, rivers, 

 and streams, Canada possesses a prolific and permanent 

 source of wealth and one of the greatest food resources 

 of the British Empire. No resource has greater or more 

 lasting value; none can be exploited so easily or so profit- 

 ably; and none merits greater attention at the hands 

 of the Canadian people. It is perfectly clear, however, 

 that all that might be done to increase the development 

 of this almost limitless resource is not being undertaken, 

 and this has to be explained to account for what is un- 

 deniably a decline in the fish catch of 1921 when compared 

 with previous years. With the exception of the salmon 

 packers of British Columbia, fish producers are making 

 little effort to establish themselves on foreign markets, 

 relying on chance orders, and very often losing out to 

 competitors. On the other hand the Canadian public 

 is consuming a great deal of foreign fish which more 

 aggressive foreign packers have managed to insert in 

 the Canadian market. 





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