Thank you to the committee for the invitation to present today.
I'm the president and CEO of Cantex Mine Development Corp. We're a junior exploration company with a project in central Yukon where we've discovered mineralization that is rich in the critical metals zinc and germanium.
The perspective that I bring today is that of a junior explorer. The market capitalizations of junior explorers are relatively insignificant compared to those of the majors. We find nearly all the mines in Canada. As such, we're the foundation of the mining industry.
As I'm sure you're aware, mining is one of the pillars of our economy. It's ranked third at the moment, and it produces about $160 billion per year towards our GDP. Due to a number of coinciding global events—society's green transition, geopolitical tensions with China, armed conflicts around the world and the strained economic relationship with our neighbour to the south—mining in Canada has found itself back in focus. Many are looking to mining to increase its activities to generate more jobs, more tax revenue, and more direct and indirect economic opportunities. A growing number of people, both here and abroad, are realizing that Canada has a wealth of critical metals that could be a reliable, friendly source that operates at the highest environmental, social and governmental standards. This is the situation we find ourselves in: with broad domestic support for advancing critical metal projects and with international allies eager for our resources. However, I feel that there is a very real chance that we will miss this opportunity.
While there are numerous factors that put this opportunity in jeopardy, there are several that I believe could be alleviated through the actions of government. These fall into four broad categories.
First is financing and investment. From a junior perspective, we have small market capitalizations, typically in the tens of millions of dollars, and we do not have producing assets. As such, we are reliant on capital markets to fund our work. These capital markets have not been reliable, and there is often a shortage of capital available for the exploration and development of our projects. In fact, capital investment in mining was lower in 2024 than it was twelve years earlier, in 2012. That's in spite of 33% inflation over that period.
I believe that the government should continue to incentivize investment through the continuation of the critical mineral exploration tax credit. Its been a fantastic program. However, I believe that the government can do more. I would like to see some of our pension funds domestically invest more back into Canada.
The second item is regulations and permitting. At the outset, I'd like to say that I'm in favour of responsible mining. I live in Canada; my family lives here. I have a strong, vested interest in ensuring that we uphold the strongest environmental regulations. However, the ever-lengthening time required to obtain the permits necessary to do everything from low-level exploration right through to mine development is a real hindrance to our industry. Commodity prices are cyclical. Investment has a short-term focus, and the geopolitical environment is rapidly changing. We can't spend 10 years or longer waiting for permits to put projects into production. The credibility of the Canadian mining sector is tarnished due to the glacial pace of our permitting system.
Third, on the first nations front, I'm concerned about the, at times, strained relationship with the first nations. Although there are shining examples of first nations taking a lead role in mining—the Tahltan and Osoyoos first nations in British Columbia and the Cree of northern Quebec—there are many first nations that have yet to benefit and to become involved. With the continued recognition of first nations' right to free, prior and informed consent, both government and industry need to ensure that we have an open and trustworthy relationship with first nations and are able to offer them a real interest in having resources developed in their traditional territories.
Finally, there's infrastructure. Most of Canada is undeveloped; it's uninhabited. Our resources are much more likely to be found in a place with no infrastructure than next to civilization. As such, we need the government's assistance in connecting these deposits to infrastructure, both power and roads. Without infrastructure, they can't be developed.
In summary, I'd like to reiterate my belief in the potential for mining critical metals in Canada. We've a rich, ever-expanding endowment due to the hard work of a skilled workforce from coast to coast to coast. Our nation has turned to us to become a stronger pillar of our economy in these difficult times.
Equally, our allies around the world are turning to us to see whether we can supply the strategic critical metals they've historically sourced from such countries as Russia and China, who are now withholding these metals for competitive and military gain. However, as mentioned, there are a number of challenges. I believe the Government of Canada can continue to expand its leadership in overcoming these obstacles and making the most of this generational opportunity for the benefit of the Canadian mine industry and all Canadians.