Evidence of meeting #4 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was transaction.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Pause there, because that's, I think, the thrust of this, and I'm running out of time.
Allowing this transaction to proceed isn't putting Canada's access to lithium at risk in terms of the resiliency of our supply chains. Is that fair to say?
January 27th, 2022 / 7:30 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Lands and Minerals Sector, Department of Natural Resources
I can't really answer the question with respect to specific transactions. I'll just say that the lithium market certainly has a lot of players in it. Demand for it is going to grow, as you pointed out, and Canada does have its own resources in terms of lithium, some of which—
Liberal
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
I appreciate that. I'm running out time.
The only thing I would say, though, is that I think the inability to answer fairly straightforward, specific questions—and I know we're saying, “Well, we can't answer” around this particular transaction—lends itself to suspicion around transactions. It should be possible for a national security expert to say that there were no national concerns for Canadians in relation to this particular transaction. We have to change that process fairly to provide transparency and to provide comfort and confidence.
Thanks very much.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Joël Lightbound
Thank you, Mr. Erskine‑Smith.
This concludes the question period.
I want to thank the witnesses and the officials for agreeing to meet with us on short notice. Thank you for joining us, and thank you for everything that you do for the country.
I see that Mr. Lemire has raised his hand.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have a request for the minister. Could the department send the committee a data table regarding the mining buyout? I'll send my specific question to the clerk, who can pass it on to the minister or the department. That would be a great help.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Joël Lightbound
Certainly, Mr. Lemire.
I apologize to the people who attended in person for the minor technical issues. We'll try to resolve them.
Once again, I want to thank the witnesses and wish you all a good evening.
The meeting is adjourned.