Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for appearing. It's always nice to see you.
I recently had a meeting with the Volkswagen executives in Germany about their plans in Canada. I asked them where they were getting the critical minerals, and they said, “Canada”. However, that's their intent because, ultimately, they said that it's not currently available. They said, “Not all our material at the moment will come from Canada.”
As we know, more than 80% or 90% of the cathodes and anodes for EV batteries are made in Asia—in China, primarily. Can you explain to me whether that's the reason that, a month after your government imposed tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, you provided a way for companies to actually get around them with the remission order?
What that is, for people who are watching, is an order that allows people to actually not pay that duty. Is that for Volkswagen and Stellantis because they cannot produce or get those materials in Canada?