Thank you very much.
Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the invite today.
I speak on a subject very different from the agriculture or oil industry. Despite Canada's vast resource wealth, our critical materials remain largely undeveloped and not strategically leveraged, primarily because of a lack of understanding about their significant climate, national security, broad economic and local community benefits.
Critical materials development and their downstream processing feed major value-creating clean technologies and next-generation jobs. Critically needed materials are fundamental to clean energy production, utilization—we always talk about production, but not utilization or “Can we use less energy?”—e-mobility, communications and medical applications. The industry strategy council, a forum assembled by ISED, created a blueprint for such implementation and provides a road map of how we can get there.
This potential is impossible to capture unless there is a just transition. We all benefit by workers, communities, employers, and government officials advocating for their own interests and fully participating in the planning process. Canada's partners can achieve these aspirations if they adhere to these principles. In the EU, for example, dedicated funding streams, strong public sector attention, and partnering with non-governmental organizations and unions are instrumental to this transition. The EU's just transition mechanism is a key tool to ensure the transition toward climate-neutral economies happens in a fair way, leaving no one behind.
C2M2A, the organization I represent, has proposed a suite of recommendations around critical materials policy, investment, research and development, secondary sources, education and trade through the years. With my limited time today, I'm going to touch on a couple of just transition-related thoughts.
First, enable first nation inclusion in value-added infrastructure investment through major project coalitions, essentially. This participation should not necessarily be limited to resource development or mining projects, because, as I'm describing today, it's not a mining initiative. It's industrialization for the new economy, and allowing first nations to participate in some of its interconnecting or interdependent links along that supply chain...to the mine, and possibly into its downstream processing. A program for indigenous groups to purchase equity in critical minerals and materials projects, possibly through soft loans repaid from indigenous groups' share of the profits, should be considered.
Many indigenous groups understand the strategic nature of critical materials. However, there needs to be a clear pathway for these groups to benefit by participating in, rather than opposing, these opportunities. I fully respect the very delicate balance in this.
Second, I have worked with communities in developing projects that help address energy poverty and invest in new decarbonization technologies. Cleaner energy for cleaner mining of critical materials and a cleaner economy is also of growing interest to our customers, funders and shareholders. Energy-efficient vehicles and motors, and even Zooming, as we're doing today, are all based on high technologies built upon critical materials.
Third, there was a previous discussion, which I appreciate sitting in on, about education. We need to cultivate and prepare a workforce to fully participate in a low-carbon economy. We are clearly short of capabilities—different capabilities. Mechanics who used to work on certain motors, engines and vehicles will have to become electronics engineers or technicians. We need to consider that in our planning. It's more than just mining. Rest assured, we're short, and it takes time to build that capability. Unfortunately, the world's competitive environment doesn't allow us a lot of time.
Fourth, I have a little aside related to just economy: How do we champion research and policies that increase Canadian firms' and communities' ability to accelerate supply chains built on secondary sources? We always tend to go back to “We need new mines.” There are already materials in tailings ponds and effluent streams, in current operations by major firms, that can be tapped and start producing what was waste product into valued products. This would not detract from the benefits that can be accrued by establishing new mines, but rather demonstrate Canada's ability to capture market share and attract value-creating investment in Canada.
Fairness and solidarity must be defining principles in our critical minerals strategies and plans. We also need to complement just transition principles with the right actions and policies. Canada's mineral wealth, mining and metallurgical reputation, as well as its climate and justice aspirations, are held in high esteem internationally.
Canada can capture across-society benefits from its natural resources. I caution again that we must avoid the traditional trap of exporting domestic raw materials to be processed elsewhere, only to be imported with their larger carbon footprint as value-added finished products.
Thank you.