Thank you for your question.
During my introduction, I talked about the fact that the Congolese crisis is humanitarian, but it is first and foremost economic. Most of the conflict zones are in areas with coltan, copper, cobalt and gold, and they are mainly located in the east, such as in Katanga, North Kivu, South Kivu, Maniema, and so on.
The automotive industry's current development of electric vehicles and the fact that cellphone batteries can last all day is no doubt thanks to the contribution of strategic materials such as copper, cobalt and coltan. Those are found in the devices we use.
You talked about a curse, but I don't believe in that. I rather think that we should be talking about good governance. Canada has raw materials, but there have never been any conflict areas where raw materials are mined in Canada, in the United States or elsewhere. Why are there always conflict zones in Africa? It is because people want to get their hands on raw materials. Canada is recognized globally as a country of mines.
For example, Canada can use its influence to impose a code of conduct when Canadian companies are extracting raw materials. The mines that are presented as dangerous can play a positive role, that of changing the economic situation of those who live in mined areas. Once again, that could increase the performance of Canadian companies, to mention only those, when raw materials are extracted and used.
I think that we have everything to gain by promoting good governance, democratic values and all the established legal rules. So, short of managing conflicts, it will be possible to manage the beneficial economic impacts for everyone—for Canada, the Congo and the rest of the world.