Natural Resources Committee on Sept. 25th, 2025

[Cindy Valence, Vice President, Sustainability and Government Affairs, Commerce Resources Corp.]

Good afternoon, committee members.

My name is Cindy Valence, and I am the vice-president of sustainability and government affairs at Commerce Resources.

Commerce Resources has a rare earth and fluoride project called Ashram, as well as a niobium project called Eldor.

Over the past several years, if not decades, we've conducted several exploration projects on the property that have allowed us to confirm, at the very least, a resource of more than 200 million tonnes with a grade of just under 2%. The conclusion was that, given this strong potential, we could now move from exploration to development in order to produce a rare earth concentrate and, eventually, if the market allows, produce rare earth carbonate.

You are probably wondering where this project is located. It's in northern Quebec, more specifically at the 55th parallel, in Nunavik. As we know, this territory is vast and sometimes hostile with its extreme cold, but it is also known for its mineral wealth, which is directly linked to the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy.

However, we also know that infrastructure in northern Quebec poses a challenge. This means that we must innovate together to find access routes, whether roads, deepwater ports or rail connections. We must also find ways to minimize greenhouse gas emissions by identifying sources of energy supply.

We thank the federal government for its support through a $2.6‑million conditional grant for studies related to access roads under the critical minerals infrastructure fund. As for next steps, Commerce Resources will continue to develop the best possible plan for access roads for its project. Of course, this work is being done in collaboration with indigenous communities, including the Inuit and the Naskapi community of Kawawachikamach. It is important to note that we have signed a letter of intent to work with Makivvik Corporation and the Nunavik Landholding Corporations Association. My colleague Ms. Riley spoke about the consortium initiative, and “consortium” means collaboration.

However, at a time when the geopolitical context is pushing us to position ourselves as Quebeckers and as Canadians, the ACER consortium, a pan-Canadian industry-led initiative, will make it possible to develop a coordinated technical plan to accelerate the development of technology to reduce costs and risks, thereby strengthening our strategic position in the global market for critical minerals.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Thank you.

We're very efficient this morning. We're under time. Thank you so much.

We're now on to Monsieur Fournier.

[Francis Fournier, President and CEO, Corem]

Dear committee members, I am pleased to be here to talk to you not only about Corem, but also about our partnership in the development of a rare earth elements consortium.

I'm the president and CEO of Corem, a non-profit organization. It's an expertise and innovation centre dedicated to mineral processing. Our mission is to develop and deploy innovations for the Canadian mining industry, whether to improve competitiveness, metallurgical performance or environmental performance. We work very closely with private industry. Commerce Resources and Vital Metals are two of our partners. Essentially, what distinguishes us is our proximity to the industry.

We have a research program—

Am I speaking too fast?

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

No, but that is a good point. It would make it a little easier for our translation personnel.

Actually, we're having trouble with a technical issue. It's the audio.

We'll suspend for just a moment.

We've stopped your time, Monsieur Fournier.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

It seems that we have our technical problems sorted out.

Monsieur Fournier, you have about three minutes and 45 seconds. I think the interpreters can handle it, but please speak in a measured way.

[Francis Fournier]

Thank you.

One of our distinctive features is our proximity to the mining industry, with which we work very closely. This collaboration is done through our pre-competitive research program with our members, who are primarily large mining companies. It's also done as part of the consortium, in which we play a key role in bringing together various industrial partners around the table, so as to prevent each company from developing its project in parallel. This collaborative approach allows us to reduce risks, and share costs and benefits.

One particular aspect of mining project implementation is worth mentioning: the scaling up and industrialization component, which is essential to technological development. We often tend to view technological development as linear, that is to say from basic research to commercialization, but what we do is actually much more complex when we develop processes. This is where the need for scaling up becomes extremely important, and this is what the consortium is aiming for. It certainly works at the pilot scale to be able to reduce project risks, but it also goes as far as the demonstration scale to be able to further reduce risks before the commercialization stage.

Unlike other minerals like iron or gold, for which the processes are better known, there are significant risks for rare earth elements. The consortium's goal is to take the knowledge of the deposits—including everything from extraction, concentration, hydrometallurgy, so separation and purification—to produce permanent magnets. That is really what the consortium project is about.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Thank you, Mr. Fournier.

We'll go to our final speaker.

Mr. Simard, you have five minutes.

[Régis Simard, General Manager, James Bay Joint Action Mining Committee]

Good afternoon, everyone.

Thank you for this invitation. I would have preferred to be with you. I'm speaking to you today from the town of Chibougamau in northern Quebec.

I graduated from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi in geological engineering, and I've been a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec since 1986. I have 16 years of diversified experience in the mining industry in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and northern Quebec.

Since 2001, I have been the general manager of the James Bay Joint Action Mining Committee—

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Mr. Simard, could you move your microphone just up towards your upper lip so that the interpreters can hear you?

Thank you very much.

[Régis Simard]

Since 2001, I have been the general manager of the James Bay Joint Action Mining Committee, where, through forecasting studies and economic, objective and critical arguments, we actively contribute to the decision-making process—

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Mr. Simard, with apologies, you have to take your hand off the microphone; it's preventing the sound from getting through. Sorry about that, we're having a few technical issues today.

Please continue.

[Régis Simard]

We therefore actively contribute to the decision-making process for planning the structuring development of northern Quebec. The James Bay Joint Action Mining Committee is the James Bay Regional Authority's point of contact for mining issues.

For several years now, the James Bay Joint Action Mining Committee has been mandated to conduct studies to demonstrate, in a measurable and quantifiable way, the relevance of secondary processing of critical minerals near the resource in James Bay. These studies were conducted for the James Bay Regional Authority, the Northern Planning Corporation, the Cree Nation Government and the Department of Natural Resources and Forestry.

We clearly demonstrated that the savings in transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions could reach as much as $1 billion in less than 10 years for advanced lithium projects in the James Bay territory. These savings would make it possible to depreciate the cost of building a secondary processing plant near the resource, contrary to the current vision of the Government of Quebec, which prioritizes Bécancour. Our studies have also shown that, without secondary processing, very few critical mineral projects have positive economic potential.

This is a historic time in terms of global demand for critical minerals. Canada has the opportunity to respond to this demand in a significant way. Our development strategies are not currently competitive, and our environmental analysis processes are too cumbersome and too unpredictable. This situation is not conducive to attracting major companies with the expertise and scale needed to develop Canadian deposits and do secondary processing.

In addition, metallurgical processing of critical minerals, such as lithium, requires a significant contribution of natural gas. Therefore, in a context where national security and economic security are important issues, the creation of a national northern transportation corridor that includes a pipeline is essential. It would allow for globally competitive industrial development and facilitate our exports overseas.

Let's not forget that Quebec's resource regions have reached a new level of development with world-class secondary processing plants. This is the case, for example, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue with the Horne Foundry, in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean with its aluminum smelters and on the Côte Nord with its aluminum smelters and iron mills. Outside Quebec, we could add Sudbury with its smelter.

This is an opportunity to develop the full potential of our northern territory and become a global producer of major critical minerals.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Thank you, Mr. Simard.

We're now going to go to questions.

We're going to start with you, Monsieur Martel.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Simard, what you said in your presentation was interesting. You mentioned natural gas.

With regard to secondary processing and the idea that it should be done near the sites where the minerals are collected, a number of people have told me that it is virtually impossible. Yes, it requires transportation, but there is no infrastructure.

Can you give me more details on that?

[Régis Simard]

The economic and environmental benefits of secondary processing close to the resource are immense. The studies we've done have shown that. This is also a historic opportunity to develop our north.

In the eyes of the world, our identity is our northern territory and our natural resources. However, in Canada, our infrastructure is not designed to develop and promote these resources and our land. So it is important for Canada to position itself in this regard.

Canada was built from coast to coast with a rail line near the U.S. border. There is no denying that the current context is not conducive to northern development, the development of our natural resources and the development of our export capacities. There is now an opportunity to occupy our territory and develop it. The Scandinavian countries, for example, developed their northern territory because they had no choice. It's important to inhabit the territory and develop it. Today, in Canada, we are facing the same reality. We need to seize this opportunity.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Simard, we often hear that projects take too long, the delays are endless and costs never end. It discourages our investors. Basically, Canada is competing with the rest of the world. Critical minerals can be found almost everywhere. Investors will choose the place where they can be extracted most quickly.

Why does it take so long here? I know there are regulations and sometimes redundancy.

What can you say about that?

We're having trouble carrying out these projects.

[Régis Simard]

As far as mining co-operation is concerned, I can confirm that we hear about this issue very often. It definitely affects our competitiveness. We have to stand out. I'll use lithium as an example. There are still six projects in the James Bay area that are advanced and promising, but we are competing with the entire world. For example, there are the brine projects in South America. ExxonMobil is developing a technology to extract brines from oil wells. We have to be aware of the kind of rink we're on right now and the competition we're facing. There are significant challenges when it comes to environmental reviews.

I would add that the quality of corporate actors is also important. Our ability to attract major players and major companies counts for a lot. Right now, we have gaps in that area.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Simard, do you think something could be done regarding regulations and obtaining permits?

When someone requests infrastructure such as railways and ports, they also need permits. It's endless. The railway has to pass through a certain location, and so on. Is there anything that can be done in terms of regulations?

That's the issue every time. Sometimes it takes up to 18 or 20 years. We're not moving forward. There are opportunities that must be taken. How can we seize them with these endless delays?

[Régis Simard]

Mr. Martel, I would say that, in a context where economic security and national security are at stake, I think we have no choice but to be smarter in our validation processes. We have to look for quality trading partners. We have to be more competitive to attract these players.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Thank you.

How much time do I have, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

You have one minute and 45 seconds left.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Simard, what you're saying is very interesting.

I'm curious because you talked about natural gas. You know that we had a project in Saguenay.

How important would it have been to get that liquefied natural gas project built?

[Régis Simard]

When it comes to these liquefied natural gas or gas pipeline projects, the focus is always on exports. However, it is also important to recognize that they offer an opportunity for industrial development in northern regions. During the discussions we had with GNL Québec, we held talks to ensure that a portion of the natural gas passing through that pipeline would be used for industrial development in northern territories. We were talking about a significant portion. That has to be part of the equation. It's not just about exports; it's also a major development opportunity.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Duguid]

Thank you.

Mr. Guay, you have the floor.