Community liaison forums

Cameco’s economic impact detailed at community liaison forum

August 16, 2006 — The event began with a presentation focusing on the significant impact of Cameco’s Port Hope conversion facility and Zircatec Precision Industries on the economies of Port  Hope and Northumberland County and ended with a surprise announcement of major funding for a local arts and cultural landmark.

At a community forum sponsored by the Northumberland Rotary Sunrise held at the Capitol Arts Centre on August 16th, guest speaker Professor Harry Kitchen of the Department of Economics at Trent University presented the results of his research into the economic impact of the conversion facility and Zircatec on the community. The study used 2005 as a base year, prior to Cameco assuming control of Zircatec.

Professor Kitchen’s economic impact study shows direct and indirect spending in Port Hope by Cameco’s uranium conversion facility and Zircatec Precision Industries totalled almost $63 million in 2005, accounting for 9% of the total economic activity in the municipality during that year.

As it turned out, Professor Kitchen’s report on Cameco’s major contribution to the community’s economy was not the only big news shared with the approximately 80 people in attendance at the luncheon event. Expressions of delight followed quickly by a loud round of applause filled the room when, at the end of the program, Bob Steane, vice-president of Cameco’s fuel services division, announced that Cameco was making a $300,000 donation to the Capitol Theatre Heritage Foundation.

Following a welcome message from Linda Goldie, president of Northumberland Rotary Sunrise, Bob Steane told the audience about Cameco’s ongoing commitment to the community liaison forum process. He outlined the various initiatives under way to meet that commitment, including the specific actions that have occurred as a result of the input from participants at the first forum held in May. This included an economic impact analysis, the key subject of the luncheon forum.

Prior to introducing Professor Kitchen to present the findings of his study, Steane briefly mentioned the results of opinion research conducted by the company which showed the majority of residents of Port Hope strongly support Cameco and public trust in the company is high. “We were certainly pleased to see that our support in the community is strong at 80% of those polled. We will continue to do everything we can to earn that trust and maintain that confidence,” Steane said. “However, at the same time, we recognize, as indicated by the research, that some members of  the community have concerns about the environmental impact of our operations, and about health and security.

We know we have a responsibility to address those concerns.” Summaries of the opinion research and the economic impact study were made available to attendants at the luncheon and copies of both documents have been posted to the Cameco Port Hope community website.

Professor Kitchen told the audience that direct and indirect spending by Cameco and Zircatec for all of Northumberland County in 2005 totalled over $117 million, accounting for 4% of total economic activity. “Cameco and Zircatec also have a significant employment impact,” he said. “Combined, they employ 526 people directly in Port Hope plus are responsible for 164 indirect jobs through secondary job creation.”

Professor Kitchen said the objectives of his study also included research on the contribution made by Cameco and Zircatec to local public finances. He determined how much new residential assessment or additional commercial assessment would be needed to replace the property tax revenue that would be required to replace the property tax revenue that would be lost if Cameco relocated its facilities to another community or closed down. “Port Hope would need an additional $27.3 million in commercial assessment or an additional $41.3 million in residential property assessment in order to replace the property tax revenue provided by the conversion facility and Zircatec,” he said. “Last year, Cameco and Zircatec paid over $1.2 million in property taxes to Port Hope, the county, and local school boards.”

Following his presentation, Professor Kitchen took questions. At one point a member of the audience asked how her life would be different if Cameco was not in Port Hope.

 He replied by using the example that residents in urban ward one would see their tax rates increase by almost 7% to replace the lost tax revenue.

After the question and answer session, Bob Steane returned to the podium to provide an update on the state of the nuclear industry and the potential positive impact on Cameco in Port Hope. “Frankly, the state of the industry is captured in two words...nuclear renaissance,” he said. “Worldwide demand for nuclear fission to produce power is growing and that means increasing demand for the production of nuclear fuel. We believe that the future is nuclear – a safe, clean, project now under way, a multi-million available source of energy for millions dollar investment in the renewal of the of people around the world.” conversion facility.

Electricity generated from Cameco‘s uranium provides 50% of Ontario’s electricity, 20% of Canada’s energy, 7% of  US electricity and 3% of European and Japanese electricity.

Steane wrapped up his industry update by reiterating Cameco’s commitment to Port Hope, pointing to the Vision 2010 project now underway, a multi-million dollar investment in the renewal of theconversion facility.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Cameco’s uranium conversion facility is the second largest employer in Port Hope’s manufacturing sector and Zircatec is the fourth largest.
• Combined, they employ 526 people directly and 164 additional person years indirectly through secondary job creation. Regionally, Cameco created 648 jobs directly and 759 person years indirectly in Northumberland County.
• Direct and indirect spending by Cameco and Zircatec on wages, salaries, purchases from local suppliers, and contributions to local charities in Port Hope totalled $63 million in 2005 or 9% of total economic activity in the municipality.
• Direct and indirect spending by Cameco and Zircatec for all of Northumberland County in 2005 totalled over $117 million or 4% of total economic activity.
• In 2005, Cameco and Zircatec’s combined assessment accounted for 1.55% of Port Hope’s taxable assessment and 4.1% of the property tax revenue.