Good afternoon. Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members.
Thank you for inviting me and my colleague, Jeff Killeen, to appear today on behalf of Canada's mineral exploration and development industry.
First, I acknowledge that I come to you today from Toronto on the traditional lands of the Huron, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, Wendat and Oneida peoples, the Anishinabe and the Mississaugas of the Credit, and all of the indigenous nations that have lived on these lands over the centuries.
PDAC is the leading voice of the mineral exploration and development industry ,with over 6,000 members in Canada and around the world, including nearly 1,000 corporate members. Our work focuses on supporting a competitive, responsible and sustainable mineral industry. We host the world's premier mineral industry event each year, attracting tens of thousands of people from more than 100 countries to Toronto for the PDAC convention in March.
Notably, Canada's mineral industry consists of more than 1,100 public companies representing a full one-third of all listings on Canadian exchanges. It is also the largest private sector industrial employer of indigenous people in Canada on a proportional basis and a key partner of indigenous businesses across the country.
Mineral exploration and mining is a major economic driver, supporting 664,000 direct and indirect jobs, and contributing $132 billion to Canada's GDP last year. The economic opportunities presented by the mineral industry are heavily weighted towards northern and remote regions of Canada, and a job in exploration or mining will typically offer a salary nearly three times the national average.
As the world looks for new sources of critical mineral inputs, Canada's vast potential for new discoveries represents one of the greatest economic opportunities in a generation and a fundamental component of meeting our own domestic needs over the coming decades. We know that demand for critical minerals will increase substantially as jurisdictions around the globe attempt to transition to lower carbon footprints, and there is no energy transition without minerals.
Canada can be “the” supplier of choice, both domestically and for our strategic partners. However, to capitalize on this opportunity, we must attract investment in mineral exploration and downstream processing so that our minerals and metals can reach markets within realistic timeframes.
We understand that to drive such meaningful change we must align government policies to strengthen our mineral sector and curtail our reliance on foreign sources that often leverage lower environmental, sustainability and governance standards to compete economically.
It is imperative that support be directed towards mineral supply chains in a logical and rational order so that we build up our natural resource wealth in step with downstream capacity. Otherwise, we risk creating a major supply chain imbalance, as domestic demand could spike well in advance of any foreseeable ability to meet those demands from Canadian mineral sources.
Mineral exploration and mining will increasingly be looking to Canada's north for new opportunities and our critical mineral strategy hinges on industry having access to prospective land. Therefore, it is extremely important that we consider the northern infrastructure deficit and our critical mineral strategy in working towards conserving 30% of Canada's lands and oceans by 2030 and achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
To achieve such long-term goals in a sustainable way, we must base land management decisions on evidence, such as public geoscience, and maintain a competitive landscape to attract investment into Canadian projects.
Budget 2022 was a great first step by the federal government in dedicating new funding and incentives. However, reaching net zero will require additional financial and fiscal tools considering the sheer scale of electrification and infrastructure development involved in reaching this goal.
We must also be mindful of the level of funding that the U.S. and other nations are willing to commit to secure access to these necessary resources for future generations.
Under this backdrop, we have offered recommendations for budget 2023 that include the following
Increase the mineral exploration tax credit, METC, from 15% to 30% in the territories, and renew it until 2027 in alignment with the new critical minerals exploration tax credit.
Expand the eligibility of Canadian development expenses for critical mineral mine development from 30% to 100% to match eligibility under the current Canadian exploration expenses.
Establish a one-window approach to available funding for early engagement and community capacity building to support indigenous participation in critical mineral projects.
Provide co-funding opportunities to regional geoscience organizations to develop comprehensive regional level mineral and energy potential models to use in land management and conservation.
Thank you again for your time. We welcome any questions.