Since at least 2019 there's been a whole lot of stakeholder engagement. A lot of research has been undertaken and there has been stakeholder engagement to really inform actions to think through what is referred to as the federal battery initiative. It's not a document per se; it's more of a governmental approach in terms of positioning Canada on the battery file and figuring out the opportunities and the gaps. There has been a whole lot of that engagement.
We have also produced a report that was called “From Mines to Mobility: Seizing Opportunities for Canada in the Global Battery Value Chain”. A lot of work has been done to date. A significant amount of work has been undertaken by the federal family on various aspects of the federal battery initiative.
There are multiple federal departments engaged in this: NRCan, ISED, Global Affairs and Invest in Canada. We've looked at expanding the “mines to mobility” initiative.
There has really been a strong focus on attracting anchor investment to build a domestic battery ecosystem linked to the automotive sector, but work has also been done by NRCan with other entities like Sustainable Development Technology Canada and Business Development Bank of Canada to look at innovation for stationary battery applications. There have been initiatives in that space like Impact Canada's “charging the future” challenge.
If you look at the recent ministerial mandate letter, you will see several priorities identified around the vision of developing sustainable battery innovation and an additional ecosystem in Canada. It's looking at the full spectrum, from minerals to manufacturing.