Thank you for your question, Mr. Lemire.
First, I would like to say hello to Mr. Saint-Jacques, a former ambassador whom I know well, who served Canada for a long time and always has a strong presence.
To answer your question, I am working with my colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources. Clearly, a national critical minerals strategy is important.
You saw the announcement this morning. I think all of Quebec is celebrating today, if I may say so, since you come from the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec. We have just seen a big European company, BASF, choose a piece of land in Bécancour, which means that the Centre-du-Québec region is kind of going to be the hub, not just for cathodes, but also for everything they are going to bring in terms of critical minerals and refining. As Canadians and Quebeckers, we know that what we want to do is not just mining—and you come from a mining region—but also refining the ore here at home, to have the entire value chain located in Quebec and in Canada.
I am pleased with the announcement this morning because it shows that Quebec is making a comeback in the great 21st century auto industry. Historically, GM was in Quebec, along with other companies. I think Hyundai was also there at one point.