Good afternoon, everyone.
Thank you for your invitation. I was asked to appear to present my organization's expertise in responsible mineral resource development, and to comment on the level of support the federal government should provide for research.
I am the executive director of the Research Institute of Mines and the Environment at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, or UQAT. The Abitibi-Témiscamingue region has a long history of mining. UQAT is recognized around the world for its expertise in mining and the environment. Since it was created 35 years ago, UQAT has made socially and environmentally responsible mineral resource development a key component of its development.
Thanks to our numerous partnerships with mining companies, Quebec government ministries and other Quebec, Canadian and international universities, the high level expertise of our professors, the creation of the Research Institute of Mines and the Environment and our research chairs, we can proudly assert ourselves as a key player in the field.
The Research Institute of Mines and the Environment has already been very successful in illustrating our willingness and ability to act as a major player in the responsible development of critical and strategic minerals.
For instance, back in 2014, one of our professors, Dr. Benoît Plante, who now holds a chair, obtained his first collaborative funding to work on the geochemistry of rare earth mining waste. Since then, he has secured over $1 million in private and government funding to develop knowledge of the environmental geochemistry of strategic mineral resources, particularly with respect to lithium, rare earths and graphite mines.
In 2015, UQAT partnered with the Cégep de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue and its affiliated centre to apply for the first time for $7.5 million in funding from the Quebec ministry of the economy and innovation to develop its research and innovation capacity related to the development of strategic metals in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, funding that was finally granted in 2018.
Even before we obtained this funding, we believed in the field so much that we recruited Professor Lucie Coudert to join our organization. She specializes in the recycling of strategic metals by hydro-metallurgical processes and battery recycling.
With the funding obtained from the Quebec ministry of the economy and innovation, we helped create the Elements08 Strategic Metals Excellence Centre. Of the $7.5 million in funding obtained, UQAT received $3.1 million. With this funding, we were able to recruit two professors to our team to round out its expertise on the entire life cycle of a mine. We welcomed Jean-François Boulanger, a specialist in strategic mineral processing, and Marc Legault, a specialist in the geology of strategic mineral resources.
These new recruits have enhanced UQAT's team of specialists, which now includes 16 professors specializing in the entire mineral development process. Our faculty is one of the largest mining and environment faculties in Canada, and can intervene in every step of the process, from exploration to soil restoration.
Lastly, we also recently created an institutional research chair in the environmental geochemistry of critical and strategic mineral resources.
I was asked to comment on how much support the federal government should provide to this sector. I must say that I agree with Dr. Zaghib. We have a—