Industry Committee on Feb. 15th, 2022

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Are you proposing to manufacture these cells yourselves or will you be contracting out that service?

[Patrick Gervais]

No. We're going to be contracting out that service. We're not going to be building cells.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Okay.

If I could go to you, Mr. Billedeau, can you just very quickly highlight for me what a critical minerals strategy would look like? I know that the council has yet to engage on this, but it would be helpful if you could already identify, very roughly, what are the key elements of a critical mineral strategy that have to be part of the process moving forward to ensure that we have a sustainable industry in Canada.

[David Billedeau]

I think the chamber's expectation and hope for Canada's critical minerals strategy is one that identifies the challenges and opportunities across the supply chain in Canada, from extraction to intermediate processing and to manufacturing and closed-loop resource recovery.

I think it's the chamber's view that Canada can compete in all of these areas and that there are opportunities in all of these areas, but there have to be significant consultation and engagement with relevant stakeholders to identify the challenges to investment and to unlocking the potential in each area.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Can you explain what you mean by “closed loop”? I think some of us understand, but it would be interesting to know exactly how you would define that and what that entails.

[David Billedeau]

Of course, and the chamber is very much interested in examining the opportunities of closed-loop systems throughout the life cycle of critical minerals. This closed-loop concept, of course, supports Canada's environmental ambitions.

On the upstream extraction side of the equation, there exist closed-loop opportunities to recover minerals from waste and tailings. In effect, Canada can support the development of systems that extract all possible value from deposits that have already been mined, creating a closed-loop system that has very little waste, if any.

On the downstream manufacturing side of the supply chain, there are closed-loop opportunities that can support value-added recycling programs that offer both environmental and economic benefits. A clear example here would be that as EVs—electric vehicles—gain market share, there may be opportunities for closed-loop battery recycling programs that repurpose or reintegrate batteries into the supply chain, limiting waste and creating economic opportunities at the same time.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you, Mr. Billedeau and Mr. Fast.

We will now move to Mr. Gaheer for five minutes for our last round of questions.

[Iqwinder Gaheer, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for making time to be here.

My questions are for Mr. Billedeau.

I know that we speak to Mr. Perrin Beatty frequently, but it's nice to speak to you, Mr. Billedeau.

You mentioned that it takes 15 years to go from plan to mine, so this is a multipart question: Does that include the timeline of finding where the mineral deposits are and the exploration, or is it apart from that, and why does it take so long?

[David Billedeau]

I will have to confirm and get back to the chair and the clerk of the committee on the answer to the first part of your question, but at the current time, it's my belief that the 15-year average is with reference to critical minerals being discovered as part of exploration and mines actually creating first production.

To the second part of your question, on what the impediments are, again, unfortunately, I will have to note that our engagement with our members of the critical minerals council is at its very early stages. I'll be reporting back to the committee on any regulatory or funding issues that slow production in the space.

[Iqwinder Gaheer, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Great.

What measures could be put in place by the federal government to encourage the exploration and extraction of the minerals?

[David Billedeau]

Again, I'll have to engage with my critical minerals council colleagues to adequately respond to your question. I will ask for patience in that respect while I do so after the meeting.

[Iqwinder Gaheer, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Does anyone else want to take that question?

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Go ahead, Monsieur Ferron.

[Martin Ferron]

Thank you.

Having worked in the mining industry for nearly 25 years, including some time as an equipment manufacturer, I have a keen interest in this field.

There can be a gap of five to ten years between the discovery of a mineral deposit with mining potential and the start of mining operations.

With respect to the search for deposits, the Quebec ministère de l'Énergie et des Ressources naturelles has already mapped out areas that have mining potential, possible exploration areas. The areas are owned by companies; for example, mineral staking or mineral claims are already owned by mining companies, either junior mining companies or exploration mining companies. Of course, special strategic metals tax credits for mining would provide a boost to exploration of these potential deposits, regardless of location in the country.

I hope I have answered your question. That's the way we see it. In the past, there were flow-through shares offered for exploration in Quebec, which had very good results.

[Iqwinder Gaheer, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Great. Thank you. That does answer it.

You're speaking about the timeline from plan to mine. Can we speak about going from mine to value-added product? How long would that take? What are the impediments to that timeline?

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Mr. Ferron, I think the question is for you.

[Martin Ferron]

Here again, we are talking about strategic metals, for which there are different sectors. Now, strategic metals are not my speciality. However, I am familiar with the mining of gold, copper and some other less strategic minerals, that is, more traditional minerals.

The strategic minerals sector is still developing, and does not yet exist in Canada, hence the importance of areas of expertise and research in universities or with certain equipment manufacturers that are being prepared.

To speed up the process, money, tax credits and government support are needed. If you want to get a full sector up and running faster, funding is key.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you very much, Mr. Ferron.

Thank you, MP Gaheer. That's all the time you have.

Today, I have been very generous with your speaking time, and I will continue to be so by giving Mr. Généreux about three minutes to ask a few questions that he did not have time to ask.

However, I expect everyone to be very productive at the subcommittee meeting that follows, because we have reduced the time for proceedings.

Mr. Généreux has the floor for three minutes.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for your generosity.

Mr. Ferron, I consider northern Canada, including northern Quebec, of course, to be the “Klondike” of the world in terms of rare earths and our wide variety of mines, some of which are in production, while others have the potential to be. It is extraordinary.

We have already talked about this: setting up a mine in Quebec would take seven to ten years. It must be the same elsewhere in Canada.

With regard to the important metals we are talking about, for example, lithium—I believe phosphate was also mentioned—do you believe that we can reduce the time it takes to set up mines while obviously respecting all the First Nations on your territories?

[Martin Ferron]

Yes, we must immediately consult those responsible for the areas affected, the host areas for the mining companies that will come to exploit their natural resources. This must be done beforehand, but always on a continuous basis.

Furthermore, when a mine is going to be exploited, regardless of its location, it is important to ensure that good practices are known throughout the mining sector. It is extremely important to have a positive image of this sector. It was once very negative, but it must be positive. This will speed up its financing and its operation. It is true that seven to ten years is a long time. However, some companies have managed to speed up the process in recent years. I am thinking, for example, of Mine Canadian Malartic. The company had an underground mine to develop. It will be in production within two years. It will have taken five years to make a mine fully operational for mining.

It is always possible to shorten the time needed to start operating a new mine, but it takes a lot of money.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

You also talked about mineral deposits. It is important to know that the Canadian North is divided into mineral deposits.

Is this an issue for the development of all these lands?

[Martin Ferron]

The Quebec government has made several changes to the regulation of mineral deposits in recent years. Companies must invest in their mineral deposits in order not to lose their exploration or mining rights on these claims if they do not undertake activities to develop their mineral deposits.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Excuse me.

In mining terms, what does “invest in their mineral deposits” mean?

[Martin Ferron]

To engage in exploration.