International Trade committee  Sure. Thank you very much. I think Mr. McKay explained it fairly well in terms of what some of the differences are. It sort of comes down to a difference in the expectation of what's possible right now. I agree that Bill C-262 and Bill C-263 are still possible to pass if we can get the political support for them.

International Trade committee  We are a mining union. We represent a lot of workers in mining, so we are supportive of development in Canada. We don't want it to happen as a result of a race to the bottom, or by degradation of environmental or human rights or labour regulations or standards. I want to make that clear.

International Trade committee  As you know, I'm not a total expert on this, and I know that there is debate in terms of how we define a Canadian mining company. I suppose we would say that it's something with headquarters in Canada. It's telling that there are so many mining companies that are headquartered here, whether as a false flag or because they're registered here on paper.

International Trade committee  Thank you. Regarding the towards sustainable mining initiative, it is important to have something that comes from outside of industry actors, which is why we support stricter and more comprehensive due diligence legislation. Voluntary standards can be useful. We work with IRMA and other responsible mining initiatives, but they wouldn't be entirely dominated by industry, and they would include particular labour rights and so on.

International Trade committee  Bill C-263 would be to expand and rectify some of the things that we think are wrong with the CORE. That was something we supported from the beginning, but once it came into place, our view was that there wasn't enough power within that position for the ombudsperson. Bill C-263 would see a CORE with more teeth, if I can put it that way, with the power to compel evidence and testimony, for example, which is not possible at the moment.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Chair. Through you, I would also like to thank the clerk and all members of the committee for the opportunity to join you here today. My name is Meg Gingrich, and I'm here with the United Steelworkers. The United Steelworkers union is the largest private sector union in North America.

International Trade committee  I think we are well advantaged with Canadian steel in particular and with other cleaner industrial products. Especially if there are requirements to have a particular carbon output from the production of the materials that go into something, Canada is extremely well positioned. We need to make sure we can take advantage of that and continue to push for a binational approach.

International Trade committee  What we're talking about is the need for Canada to have policies similar to those that exist in the IRA to ensure that production doesn't move to the United States or that new production isn't only created in the U.S. The IRA covers all of those things. That's what we're saying here; we need something similar.

International Trade committee  We do talk quite a bit. The U.S. side of the union shared their analysis of the IRA in advance, particularly on some of the domestic content requirements. We always work together. There's always a delicate balance with the rest of the larger U.S. labour movement, but as much as possible, we're very united in promoting a binational approach.

International Trade committee  I want to be careful on this. We're not opposed to putting a price on carbon. We're not necessarily opposed to a carbon tax. However, yes, I think the combination of the lack of a price on carbon in the United States and the provisions of the IRA could put the Canadian steel industry at a disadvantage, including our members.

International Trade committee  It could, especially if there are no procurement policies. I think we have seen some, and we would like to see more in domestic procurement so we have green provisions, because our aluminum—and I haven't focused as much on aluminum—and steel are, as I said, some of the cleanest in the world.

International Trade committee  I don't know if that was for me.

International Trade committee  Sure. Our union isn't opposed to a carbon tax. I guess the issue we see here is that if there's a lack of one in another country and there are additional incentives there, then without additional policy measures domestically, that could give an advantage. Take U.S. steel production, for example.

International Trade committee  It's hard for me to give specifics, both in terms of that particular fund and overall in terms of the money that needs to go toward all of this. I don't have a good estimate at this time of what that looks like. I think the main thing is to develop a comprehensive policy to look at it similarly to how the U.S. is looking at it.

International Trade committee  I think it's part of something larger. The European Union has been working on theirs and designing theirs for years, so it's not a fast process. It's takes a long time. I know there was a consultation on this maybe about a year ago, and the United Steelworkers put in a submission.