Natural Resources Committee on Nov. 2nd, 2011

[An hon. member]

Your time is up.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Yes, your time is up.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

No, this is a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

I haven't stopped you from asking your questions, Mr. McGuinty. I believe my position, that these questions would be better asked at the environment committee, is valid.

Mr. Anderson.

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Gravelle has asked that we discuss future business here.... I think probably next week we'll be doing that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Yes, exactly.

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

We have the schedule for a couple of weeks. Why don't we discuss it when we talk about future business?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Thanks, Mr. Anderson.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

We go now to Mr. Trost, Mr. Harris, and Monsieur Lapointe.

Go ahead, Mr. Trost. You have three minutes.

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The question is to MAC. This is predominantly about northern Canada. There are things we can't do to change the climate, the competitiveness with the weather and so forth and the remoteness of northern Canada. However, in three minutes or less, what would be your three top priorities? What could we do to increase the competitiveness of our mining sector in northern Canada?

[Pierre Gratton]

We could continue geoscience investments and continue to invest in the capacity of the various resource boards and agencies to do their jobs efficiently, as per Ramsey's point earlier.

The government established the northern project management office, which is new but has the potential to deliver a more timely and efficient process. Continue to support that.

Lastly, infrastructure: there are some pretty critical investments in northern infrastructure, which our industry often ends up being a partner in. Have a good look at what the long-term infrastructure needs of the region are and develop a strategy around that.

Those would be the three areas I would focus on.

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

With regard to infrastructure, energy is always a big issue: diesel, things of that nature. There has been some suggestion that LNG or other technologies should be introduced. Have any of your members who work in the north given any thought to issues such as that, because you always need a lot of power when you set up a mine?

[Pierre Gratton]

You're right.

[Rick Meyers, Vice-President, Technical and Northern Affairs, Mining Association of Canada]

Let me put it this way. We're not aware of projects proposing to use LNG. There are experiments and tests going on, on wind energy, which is starting to look as if it could support development, depending on the size of the development, and make a contribution to it, but it certainly won't replace the current situation. If you look at development across the north, it's not just mining, but every community in the north runs on fossil fuel for energy as well. They are all tied in.

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Are there any particular human resources, labour training programs that have worked together, and is there anything the industry itself has done? This does frustrate government members sometimes, when business comes to us and asks us to train all their workers for them, without always cooperating or being a part of it.

[Pierre Gratton]

If you look at the aboriginal skills and employment partnership program, the total federal contribution in the end is about 10% to 15%. The rest comes from industry or from other partners, educational institutions, and so on. It's been the most successful aboriginal-focused training initiative in the country, in my view.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you, Mr. Trost.

Mr. Harris, you have up to three minutes.

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Mr. Hart, I have been on the committee for a while, and I have seen your presentations to the committee. It appears for the most part that your organization is fairly critical of the mining industry. I don't mean to be flip in my next question, but I need to ask if you've ever met a mining project you liked. If so, could you tell me which ones they are and why you like them--Canadian ones, for example?

[Ramsey Hart]

It's not our job to promote the industry; the industry has a lot of resources behind it to do that.

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Just let me clarify. As I say, I've heard a lot of criticism about mining practices in Canada, environmental or otherwise. I'm wondering if any mining projects stand out in your mind that are in what you would call your good books. You like these developments because they are doing things environmentally and with their practices that you actually like. If there are any, can you tell me which ones they are?

[Ramsey Hart]

There are aspects of projects that I like. I don't think we have a perfect example of the totality of any one project out there yet, but I like certain aspects of things. It gets complicated, because we have partners internationally that may have a lot of concerns about what, for example, Goldcorp is doing in Guatemala. If I go on the record and say Goldcorp is doing great things in Canada, our Guatemalan partners get very upset with us.

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

I'm trying to zero in on Canadian mining projects for which there are mountains of regulations, both environmentally and otherwise, and hoops they have to jump through. I'm looking for a point in your organization's life when you said yes, you like what they are doing here and this company can be an example to other mining companies. Can you put anyone in that category, and which mine is it?

[Ramsey Hart]

I think the Troilus Mine in Quebec has been a good example in terms of its relationship with the Cree. I'm not suggesting it's a perfect mine. I haven't reviewed all of its environmental performance, for example, but that would be one good example.

The Raglan Mine in Nunavik has excellent relationships with the Inuit, by and large. There is a major environmental liability at that site, so—

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

So you have criticisms, even though they're.... Okay.

That's all I have, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you.

Monsieur Lapointe, you have up to three minutes.