Foreign Affairs Committee on Oct. 7th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you.

Thank you very much, colleagues. We're about to go into our fifth round of questioning. We have less than 15 minutes, so if it's the will of the committee, I'd like to suggest that we do a quick round of three minutes each. That way, everybody gets a chance to speak.

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

We'll start with MP Aboultaif. You have three minutes.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

On investment in building communities in the north, we have only 130,000 people in 72 communities, if I heard that correctly earlier. Do we believe that just these communities will be enough for us to counter what Russia has been doing for years on the other side, building on those communities and that infrastructure?

It would be important to hear from the department and Mr. Sinclair about that comparison and what we should do more or better in order to see the future—we're running a race here—before we know we're not ready enough to do that.

[Robert Sinclair]

I'll start by saying that how we build in the north is probably quite different from how Russia builds.

I hope we've learned from our mistakes in the past. As you've heard me say, there's an emphasis and a premium put on engaging with local communities on how to best develop dual-use infrastructure. That wasn't there for us before. I do not think Russia takes the same approach to how it develops its Arctic and north, and I would say its respect for indigenous peoples is, at best, token.

I'll leave it at that on civilian and dual-use infrastructure. I'm not sure if my colleagues have anything to add.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

General Rivière, do you agree with that? What would your approach be?

[Brigadier-General Daniel Rivière]

I go back to the essential need to focus on sustainment, mobility and logistics. The effort should be in allowing that type of development.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

What would you like to see happen, as the military guy here? What's on your wish list?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

You have 20 seconds for a response.

[Brigadier-General Daniel Rivière]

I would like to have the northern operational support hub program implemented.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much, Mr. Aboultaif.

We'll go to MP Mona Fortier next.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Along the same lines, we see that there are a lot of investment projects. Prime Minister Carney recently announced a $6‑billion investment in the Arctic over-the-horizon radar project in partnership with Australia. We know that the threat we're facing is time. We may not be moving fast enough.

Do you have any recommendations or ideas for speeding up our projects?

[Eric Laporte]

Thank you for your question.

Indeed, since the modernization of NORAD and the 2017 “Strong, Secure, Engaged” defence policy, there has been an upward trend in major military investments for the benefit of the Arctic.

As you said, there's the over-the-horizon radar. For his part, General Rivière talked about northern operational support hubs. There's also the issue of the 12 submarines and the Arctic and offshore patrol ships, as well as the acquisition of drones and maritime patrol aircraft. All this to say that there is an increased investment in the area. It's a lot.

National Defence, Public Services and Procurement Canada and the industry department are all involved in the development of these projects. Last week, the Defence Investment Agency was created. The main purpose of that agency is to speed up defence procurement and ensure that Canadian companies benefit.

A lot of things are being done right now. These are huge investments. All of this is to ensure that we meet the NATO targets, namely, from 2% of GDP for the current fiscal year to 5% in 2035.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

You have one minute left.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

Mr. Rivière, do you want to add anything?

[Brigadier-General Daniel Rivière]

Mr. Chair, I would encourage innovation and small-scale practical experimentation in the north through our operations like Operation Nanook. If we want to accelerate the acquisition of observation platforms in the north, why not encourage experimentation with certain existing platforms? That could be a way to accelerate that acquisition, not on a large scale, but on a small scale. That would be a start.

Let's also use indigenous knowledge. That's an area I think we could focus on.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

That could be leveraged to speed up project implementation.

[Brigadier-General Daniel Rivière]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

We'll next go to MP Mario Simard.

You have the floor for three minutes.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Gentlemen, I've been listening to you carefully, particularly regarding the NATO targets, the 2% that should perhaps rise to 5%. Like me, you may have heard about the government's intention to use critical minerals infrastructure to achieve that 5% target. I'm sure you know that a significant portion of critical minerals projects are located in the Far North. We need only think of rare earths, which are mainly produced in China, and on which NATO countries are highly dependent.

Could you tell me whether your end has had any thoughts or even studies on supporting the government's efforts to reach the 5% target? I'd like to focus not on defence infrastructure, but on infrastructure that can enable the deployment and development of critical minerals projects. Infrastructure is key when it comes to critical minerals.

[Eric Laporte]

Thank you for your question.

At the summit in The Hague this summer, the allies all agreed to work toward a 5% of GDP defence target. It's important to remember that 3.5% of that 5% is allocated to critical defence investments. Those are investments in military capabilities, among other things. The remaining 1.5% is allocated to capabilities that enable jurisdictions to build resilience to adversaries, support their economy and support the armed forces.

You're absolutely right that thought has been given to domestic investments in large-scale projects that could be included in the 1.5% that is part of the 5%.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

There has been talk about the willingness of certain NATO countries to set a floor price for critical minerals. It often takes some form of predictability for a mining project to get off the ground. When it comes to rare earths and lithium, the Chinese can engage in dumping and make Canadian projects less competitive.

I've heard talk of NATO countries wanting to set a floor price to create what would look like national reserves of critical minerals.

Is that part of what you've heard?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Give a quick response, please.

[Eric Laporte]

I'm not aware of some of NATO's decisions, but I do know that there are discussions between certain countries. Our colleagues at the Department of Natural Resources are probably in a better position to discuss that issue.