Thank you, Mr. Chair, committee members, clerk and fellow witnesses.
For the record, my name is Brendan Marshall. I am vice-president of economic and northern affairs for the Mining Association of Canada. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this important consultation process.
Never before has a robust and competitive domestic Canadian mining and metal manufacturing industry been more critical to attracting downstream value-added advanced manufacturing investment to Canada. Elevated geopolitical and trade tensions have exposed growing concerns over the reliability of existing supply for critical minerals—materials without which the Teslas, the Apples and the Amazons of the world cannot operate. These companies are making investment decisions on the basis of stable, consistent and long-term access to the critical minerals and metals that are essential for the low-carbon battery and clean-tech products they produce.
Canada's success in attracting advanced manufacturing investment is inextricably linked to a competitive and renewed mining and metal manufacturing industry. To deliver on the government's clean economy vision for Canada and seize this rare opportunity, targeted policies signalling Canada's commitment to the industrial competitiveness needed for success in the low-carbon economy are needed.
The first area I want to talk about is public geoscience funding. The past 30 years have seen marked declines in proven and probable Canadian mineral reserves in all major base metals. The implication is that production from Canada's fleet of operational mines is shrinking. This adds strain to the country's smelters and refineries, several of which have closed in recent years because of increased reliance on costly international feedstock. A robust renewal of Canada's commitment to public geoscience funding is essential to a turnaround.
To reverse the decline of critical minerals and metals, MAC has two recommendations for the government. One, renew and expand from previous levels the geomapping for energy and minerals program, or GEM, to $200 million over five years to locate the next generation of Canadian mines. Two, renew and expand from previous levels the targeted geoscience initiative, to $50 million over five years, to increase the life of Canada's existing fleet of operational mines. Noting that those programs were brought in under the previous government, I would hope that there would be an opportunity for a bipartisan acknowledgement of a clear path forward on that.
Critical mineral innovation and industrial policy is the next piece I want to speak about. Increased geopolitical uncertainty has brought focused attention to the precariousness of existing supply sources for many primary materials. This has resulted in Canada's allies classifying as critical minerals the primary materials on which their economies and national security rely, but which they cannot procure from within their own borders. Rare earth elements and other critical minerals are of strategic interest due to their use in a wide range of essential battery, energy, computing and defence applications. Currently, China holds control over the production of many of these materials, thus rendering governments and other consumers reliant on China as their source.
To support the stated objectives of the joint action plan on critical minerals collaboration signed between Canada and the United States, MAC recommends a suite of initial actions. These include, one, significantly enhanced funding for Natural Resources Canada's CanmetMining to develop state-of-the-art identification, extraction and refining processes, including from recycled existing mine waste streams; two, a commitment to a whole-of-supply-chain approach, including supports for downstream market development and value-added production; and three, the establishment of an interdepartmental joint government-industry task force to study, report and recommend back in one year additional policy options.
Finally, I would like to speak briefly about accelerating industrial decarbonization. There is a direct correlation in mining between remoteness and emissions intensity. Mining companies operating remotely are virtually exclusively reliant on diesel fuel for power generation and haul-fleet operations. For grid and pipe-connected mine sites, the need for diesel persists in mobile equipment almost universally. However, battery technologies are improving. Companies are committed to transitioning to cleaner, lower-carbon operations where possible. For example, Newmont's Borden mine in Ontario, now operational, is slated to be the first fully all-electric mine in Canada and will be carbon-neutral underground by 2021.
To support the industry in its transition to a lower-carbon economy, MAC respectfully recommends a two-tiered strategy to accelerate emissions reduction for power generation at off-grid sites and from haul fleets at grid-connected operations. The first piece of that would be to establish a $250-million fund for remote and northern industrial electrification. The second would be to extend the tax measure announced in the 2018 fall economic statement that enabled the full expensing for clean-energy equipment to include all types of battery-electric, trolly-assist and energy-efficient conveying equipment deployed in Canada's mining sector.
Thank you for your time. I'd be happy to take questions.