Evidence of meeting #45 for International Trade in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was export.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
President and Chief Executive Officer, Mining Association of Canada
It's a huge country, and we have a fair way to go.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Mining Association of Canada
On the Grays Bay port and road project, there are a couple of world-class deposits up there that we've known about for 60-plus years. We've never developed them because we've never had a road or a port. Those are mines that will last multiple generations if we can ever get them off the ground.
Conservative
David McKenzie Conservative Calgary Signal Hill, AB
Clearly we need some focus on that type of access.
Conservative
David McKenzie Conservative Calgary Signal Hill, AB
Ms. Tronnes, I'd like to ask you about some of the benefits available with our conventional resources. If I'm correct, it's an area that you've done some work on, in particular the advantages of getting liquefied natural gas to our eastern coast and eastern ports for export. Is that correct?
Executive Director, Center for North American Prosperity and Security
Yes, although my colleague Heather has done the bulk of that work, I would say, and she is there with you.
Conservative
David McKenzie Conservative Calgary Signal Hill, AB
I'm happy to put the question to either of you.
My research indicates that today there's somewhere in the neighbourhood of 14,000 kilometres of petroleum pipe operating under the soil in the province of Quebec. I think very little of that, actually—less than 1,000 kilometres—is oil. Thus, the vast majority is natural gas. I'm wondering if you can give us any ideas as to how we can convince our colleagues, friends and neighbours in Quebec of the safety of the natural gas transmission infrastructure that exists in our country so that we might get to export facilities.
Director, Energy, Natural Resources and Environment, Macdonald-Laurier Institute
I'll take this one.
It did seem to come up in the news that in the Quebec campaign, fracking was maybe seen as a door opening and that maybe there's potential for that. Even in the meeting with the French president last week, President Macron, it was indicated that they're very interested in Canadian LNG. Obviously, the German foreign minister has now arrived and is here and is also interested in eastern coast LNG.
We have excess capacity to get western Canadian natural gas, as you're probably aware, through the system into eastern Canada. Eastern Canada has started to take more of the natural gas from the United States just because it's closer, so that extra capacity exists. I think it was the foundation of Saguenay LNG when they were going to go ahead with that and it was later rejected.
I think everything has its time, and maybe it is time that we think a bit more seriously about natural gas exports off the east coast, and probably also some natural gas generation, I would say. Certainly, as Pickering now goes off-line for refurbishment, I think everyone expects that there will be more natural gas generation in Ontario. Maybe when Pickering comes back online, there will be other customers for that.
Executive Director, Center for North American Prosperity and Security
May I add to that?
Executive Director, Center for North American Prosperity and Security
I would add that we noticed here in D.C. yesterday a lot of talk about a potential export ban on diesel fuel. That would potentially have some repercussions if it were to extend to other fuels being exported or returned back up into the Canadian pipeline network. It is something to think about in terms of getting our own natural gas to other parts of Canada.
Liberal
Liberal
Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'll never miss an opportunity to talk up Canada. We are number one when it comes to mining. We are number one in the world. When you talk about financing for mines, we are number one in the world. When you talk about the biggest show, when we bring PDAC here, we bring people from all over the world, and 130 or 140 countries come to Toronto, to Ontario, to Canada, to do business.
This is a real opportunity. We just had our Canada investment summit, and of the 167 projects through which we are looking to catalyze $1 trillion, 63 were mines. In the TSX, 40% to 50% is mining. We have a real opportunity here.
I'll start with Mr. Gratton and Bill C-39. Will that bring the ingredients necessary to build on our success, to get many of these mines to a better place and to continue to grow and export around the world? As I understand it, we export to over 100 countries around the world, and this will help with our diversification strategy.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Mining Association of Canada
I think the mega deduction will have a bigger impact than Bill C-39.
Liberal
Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
We can bring in the mega deduction too—Bill C-39, the mega deduction and the investments.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Mining Association of Canada
I think our sector sees that as very transformative. It has made Canada possibly the most attractive jurisdiction for mining investment in the world.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Mining Association of Canada
I'm sure they have it in Hansard.
The regulatory process and our tax attractiveness have been the two things hampering investment into Canada over the last number of years. With not just the mega deduction but some of the other measures in last year's budget—the critical minerals tax credit, for example—a number of things have put Canada back in first place.
On the regulatory side, as I was mentioning earlier in response to Madame Lapointe's question, we've started to see improvements in how projects are being evaluated and permitted at the federal level already. Bill C-39 and some of the elements in there will accelerate that further.
There is a much greater sense of optimism emerging in how our sector is viewing Canada's role in this. I note that we fall primarily under provincial jurisdiction. I'm sure it will be welcome news for the federal government to have the industry's eyes turned towards provinces from now on as it gets its own house in order, but what happens at the provincial level is also really key if we're actually going to improve overall timelines.
Liberal
Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
Thank you.
I'll open that up to Ms. Exner-Pirot also.
Director, Energy, Natural Resources and Environment, Macdonald-Laurier Institute
I totally agree—maybe not number one in mining, but number one in exploration, mining finance and junior mining companies. I'm very proud of that as well.
One aspect to note is that we always think about mining our own products and getting them out of the ground. There's also a tremendous opportunity in the cycle for Canadian companies to be the preferred operator, producer, company and partner in other countries. Obviously, some other countries in the world are not preferred partners.
We can make money and do export and trade not only by shipping our own raw materials but also by being the enabler of other countries—of our partners or allies. When I was in Asia at the Canada-in-Asia Conference last year, that was more often the conversation: What kind of investment, what kind of partnership and what kind of expertise can Canadians bring to us as we develop our own minerals? It's something that we should always keep at the forefront instead of always talking about the deposits we have here—not that I don't love our deposits.
