Evidence of meeting #46 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was aluminum.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
That's excellent.
Witnesses, we look forward to your briefs.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
Thank you very much, Chair.
I'm going to ask questions of Ms. Laramée during this round.
Would it be fair to say that the effects of the punitive tariffs from the U.S. have been devastating to your industry?
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
Absent measures in buy Canada, is a trade deal still needed for your industry to restore long-term stability?
Chief Executive Officer, Quebec Aluminum Industrial Cluster
Yes, it's essential. The negotiations surrounding the Canada—United States—Mexico Agreement are essential.
Conservative
Chief Executive Officer, Quebec Aluminum Industrial Cluster
It's very important to have good negotiations on CUSMA.
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
I'll now ask questions similar to those that I asked of Mr. Marcil.
Do you pay the industrial carbon tax on the aluminum you produce?
Chief Executive Officer, Quebec Aluminum Industrial Cluster
I don't know. I'm not a producer of aluminum. I represent the SMEs processing the aluminum.
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
Do you know if those who are producing the aluminum pay the industrial carbon tax?
Chief Executive Officer, Quebec Aluminum Industrial Cluster
I don't know.
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
You don't know if they do. Okay.
You would not know, then, what the costs of emissions regulations are on the aluminum industry.
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
Do you know how much of the business done by the aluminum industry is done with the automotive industry?
Chief Executive Officer, Quebec Aluminum Industrial Cluster
A lot. It's in Ontario, mainly, but we know there are rolling mills in the U.S. The aluminum produced in Canada goes to the U.S., comes back to Ontario and goes back to the U.S. That's why it's a very integrated value chain.
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
We have the punitive tariffs from the United States and have the industrial carbon tax, which I'm going to assume our aluminum producers are paying. What is the effect of them with the allowance of Chinese-made EVs into the market?
Chief Executive Officer, Quebec Aluminum Industrial Cluster
I don't have the answer to that question. I don't know.
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
I'll ask you to speculate. Is it fair for your industry to have to compete with aluminum produced with forced labour?
Chief Executive Officer, Quebec Aluminum Industrial Cluster
No, it's not, and it's a big problem. That's why we're asking the federal government to act on it and protect our local industry from non-market economies. It's really killing our local industry—mainly the extrusion.
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
It undercuts the industry. The market shrinks for the aluminum industry as a result of these decisions. Is that correct?
Chief Executive Officer, Quebec Aluminum Industrial Cluster
It's a perfect storm. There's the market we have lost from the U.S., and then there are the incomes coming from non-market economies. They're literally taking all of the opportunities in Canada from our local industry.
Conservative
Liberal
Vince Gasparro Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you for being here.
Mr. Marcil, the Government of Canada is spending a significant amount of capital on infrastructure and housing. The buy Canada policy is one pillar of what we are doing to try to drive investment into our domestic economy. Alstom is a critical partner in delivering this investment while keeping economic benefits in the country.
In January 2026, as we previously discussed, the federal government announced its first award under the new buy Canadian policy. I'm referring specifically to the 55 new subway trains for Toronto's line 2, which will be manufactured in Thunder Bay.
Maybe you can talk a bit about what some of the economic benefits are that remained in Canada because of the buy Canadian policy that weren't really captured in the contract.
