Sudbury councillors want mining royalties for roads

Sudbury city council voted in favour last night of a proposalto ask the province toimpose a levy on mining companiesusing municipal roads to haul ore.

Coun. Andre Rivest proposed a system of royalties, similar to those already paid by sand and gravel companies.

He said the profits from those levies should go towards fixing the roads.

Almost all of his fellow councillors agreed with him, with the exception of Coun. Dave Kilgour. He was the only one to vote against the idea.

"Going after the mining companies for $172,000, in my mind are going to be $172,000 taken away in donations to the hospitals and the charities in our area," he said.

Kilgour noted he'd rather see the provincial and federal governments give municipalities a share of the HST.

Now, the city will approach theAssociation of Municipalities of Ontarioto lobby for a change in provincial law.