Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Bonjour. My name is Ilan Bahar. I am the co-head of BMO Capital Markets' global metals and mining group in investment and corporate banking. Thank you very much for inviting me to speak with you today. We at BMO greatly appreciate the opportunity to take part in your committee's timely study.
As you know, mining is a cornerstone of the Canadian economy. The contribution of the minerals sector to Canada's GDP in 2018 reached $72 billion, or roughly 3.5% of total GDP. Mining provides employment for more than 626,000 Canadians, with 16,500 of those jobs held by indigenous people.
BMO has maintained a long-standing global leadership position in metals and mining, earning recognition as the best metals and mining investment bank by Global Finance Magazine for the last 12 years, including this past year.
Of equal importance, we are very proud of our efforts to contribute to Canada's increasing prominence worldwide in environmental, social and governance, or ESG, considerations. BMO was named the top North American bank in the Corporate Knights 2021 global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world, to mention just one example. BMO is also increasingly prominent in sustainable finance, including as joint lead manager on a five-year, $8-billion sustainable development bond issued by the World Bank. Just this past Wednesday, BMO announced its commitment to help and guide our clients drive economic transformation towards a net zero world.
I mention these items because ESG responsibility has emerged as one of the keys to the future success of the metals and mining sector, as we in Canada stand on the brink of once-in-a-generation opportunities. These are opportunities to create a new era of investment in mining and in emerging industrial and manufacturing sectors, to secure critical materials sources and bolster supply chains, and to boost Canadian competitiveness while taking a leading role in the transformation to clean technologies such as electric vehicle batteries, which are crucial to the net-zero economy.
Canada has the expertise in all facets of mining to tackle this defining challenge of the 21st century. We now have renewed commitment to this goal from the federal government, both in its revised joint agreement with the United States last month and in the Prime Minister's mandate letters to Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O'Regan and other ministers.
To move ahead, we believe we need to focus above all on two areas. First, government at all levels in Canada must commit to working together to streamline the regulatory process in the mining sector. In our view, a transparent, predictable and streamlined regulatory system that enhances collaboration among all levels of government is vital. When it comes to both the environment and foreign investment, BMO favours regulation that carefully balances business and economic realities with public concerns on conservation, public safety, national security and related issues.
Second, the government could look at the entire range of tax, regulatory and financial support programs to determine the most effective means of incentivizing investment in metals and mining in Canada. Would the government, for example, want to establish new federal funding to assist companies that are focused on the discovery and development of metals and minerals crucial to green technology advances or would it consider upgrading the mineral exploration tax credit and flow-through share incentives with the aim of making Canada a world leader in the development of critical battery minerals?
At BMO, we of course support the goal of harnessing our competitive edge in mining to accelerate the pro-growth strategy that former innovation minister Navdeep Bains called “mines to mobility”. Accordingly, we should recognize that our mining sector's ESG initiatives, which are widely recognized as the world standard, are increasingly attracting countries around the world seeking ethically produced critical minerals to enable their clean technologies. This, combined with the desire in many countries to obtain secure access to mineral supplies from jurisdictions with similar political and economic values, gives Canada a clear advantage as an optimal source for critical minerals in a post-COVID recovery. For countries that must secure a source of critical minerals to address climate change, Canada can and should be the answer.
With tax and regulatory regimes that encourage investment, there is no doubt that Canada has the entrepreneurial skills, the raw materials and the commitment to sustainable economic growth that can cement our global leadership in this valuable and urgently important sector.
Thank you for having me. I look forward to your questions.