Under Bill C‑34, giving notice is a requirement. We want to be aware of these investments as quickly as possible so that we can conduct a national security review.
The committee members and my colleagues have definitely seen that I'm prepared to use the act on behalf of of Canadian interests. We recently blocked three transactions by Chinese companies that wanted to acquire certain activities or assets in a number of mines here in Canada.
The bill will give us more tools. The required notice is one example of this. It will enable our teams to conduct a national security analysis. The principle underpinning the bill is to have as many tools as possible in the tool box to protect national security. Critical minerals are definitely in the picture here.
Earlier on, a member asked a question about Volkswagen. Volkswagen came to Canada because of the qualified workforce, the ecosystems, and access to critical minerals, renewable energy, and the market.
My concerns include not only protecting the mining of our critical minerals, but also the refining thereof. The idea is to keep the added value of these resources here in Canada rather than exporting raw materials to other countries.