Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Gentlemen, thank you for your remarks. I can see from your body language that you're also passionate about this topic.
I have a question that may take you in a different direction. Given my area of interest, I usually sit on the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. Did you know that the federal government wants to contribute to a critical minerals bank that would serve NATO countries, given that northern Canada has a wealth of critical minerals?
Russia and China are the main producers of rare earths, for example. They carry out a great deal of dumping, which makes it difficult to develop mining projects. In a way, they're driving prices down. Within NATO, people are talking about setting a floor price for certain critical minerals in order to successfully develop these industries. I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
I would also like to hear your opinion on another topic. You spoke earlier about interference. Isn't there a risk that Russian or Chinese entrepreneurs could provide funding for some of these projects, even here in Canada? I would like to hear your thoughts on the whole concept of critical minerals and rare earths and their strategic implications.