Science and Research Committee on Feb. 5th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Yes.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

The time is 12:51. We will have to suspend the meeting and then come back at one o'clock with the minister as the witness. The officials will stay.

We are sorry for the interpretation issue, but—

[Kelly DeRidder, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

I'd like a response, please, because my time was cut short.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

The question was asked, so if it is possible, the officials can do that.

I will suspend the meeting, and we will come back at one o'clock.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome back.

I would like to welcome our witness, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry.

Thanks a lot, Minister Joly, for appearing before the committee. You will have five minutes for your opening remarks.

You can please go ahead. The floor is yours.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Thank you all for being here.

Thank you for inviting me to appear before the committee to speak about my mandate as Minister of Industry and about how we are strengthening the Canadian economy through science, research and, above all, talent.

Before I begin, I want to recognize the Honourable Kirsty Duncan for her commitment to the scientific community and for her leadership on the Standing Committee on Science and Research. Her diligent work and ongoing dedication have been instrumental in advancing research and scientific excellence in Canada. We owe her a great deal of recognition, and her legacy will continue to inspire those working to strengthen scientific excellence in this country.

We're living in a much more complicated, complex and dangerous world. Global economic competition is intensifying, and geopolitical instability is reshaping investment and research decisions in real time. While we cannot control global shocks or rising trade tensions, we can control how Canada prepares and how we choose to respond.

One reality is clear: Talent has become one of the key determinants of a country's economic strength. Countries that attract and develop top researchers and innovators and highly skilled workers will be the ones shaping the global economy, not reacting to it.

When the Prime Minister gave me this mandate, he was very clear: to strengthen Canada's industrial capacity and ensure that science, research and talent directly support our economic resilience and security. That was his priority.

Therefore, the industrial strategy we developed rests on three pillars: protect, create and attract. However, let's be clear: At the heart of this strategy are science and talent. That's why I'm saying very clearly that our industrial strategy is a science strategy.

Protecting is about protecting our ability to decide here, in Canada—protecting our workers, our strategic industries and our scientific advantage in a context of increased global competition. Creating means making targeted investments in the industries of the future across the country so that innovation translates into good jobs and sustainable growth. The key pillar, however, is the third one.

Attracting talent is no longer a nice-to-have; it's a strategic imperative. Researchers and innovators are globally mobile, and they choose countries that offer academic freedom, stable funding and clear pathways, from discovery to impact. Canada is choosing to compete and to lead.

That's why in budget 2025, we made historic investments in research and talent, through our new research talent initiative, of $1.7 billion to attract more than 1,000 world-class researchers, including, of course, francophone talent, in areas such as AI, life sciences and clean tech.

It's not only about recruitment; it's about building complete innovation ecosystems, linking science, industry and real-world outcomes. This past fall, I wrote a mandate letter to my parliamentary secretary, Karim Bardeesy, to launch our government's efforts in science and research and to continue advancing our talent attraction strategy. In this letter, I tasked Mr. Bardeesy with leading the creation of an advisory council on science and innovation. This council will play a central role in guiding our priorities, aligning science, research and industry and ensuring our public investments deliver tangible results, all to support our ambition of building the strongest economy in the G7.

Attracting top global talent also strengthens Canadian talent. It's a powerful economic driver. Canada is at a pivotal moment. The countries that invest in talent, research and industrial capacity today will define the global economy of tomorrow.

Our approach is clear.

I will be pleased to answer members' questions.

Thank you so much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Minister.

We will now proceed to our rounds of questioning.

We will begin with MP Baldinelli for six minutes.

MP Baldinelli, please go ahead.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for your opening statement and for finally listening to Conservatives and Canadians by scrapping the EV mandate today.

Before I get into any questions with regard to the EV mandate, I want to go back to the recent trip the Prime Minister took to China and the agreement to allow 49,000 vehicles into the country, with the growth that is expected. I believe it's 6% growth per year.

Is there any limit on that, Minister? Is there a number of years after which that growth has to end?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Madam Chair, I'm just wondering whether this is in line with the science and research committee. Of course, I want to make sure that I respect the mandate of the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

The study is on your mandate. It is in regard to the mandate of the minister.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

You were at an announcement today, Minister, announcing the scrapping of the EV mandate. If you're not prepared to answer questions with regard to a government decision on that mandate, that's on you. Today is our time to ask you questions, not only with regard to your mandate but specifically on a policy and program that we had advocated scrapping for months. Canadians deserve and have a right to hear from you today.

Let me go back to the question I was asking about your recent trip to China and the agreement to allow 49,000 Chinese vehicles in.

Doug Ford called these vehicles, only two weeks ago, “spy” machines. In fact, previously at the international trade committee, Charles Burton, who was a professor at Brock and a former diplomat, called Chinese vehicles “spy machines on wheels”.

Again, Madam Minister, I would like to know if there is a limit on that 6% growth rate, or does it continue to go on afterwards?

With regard to this deal, the Canadian government got a nine-month pledge from the Chinese government for dropping tariffs on canola for nine months. My understanding is that we've given over five years, and it could be unlimited, so what is that, Minister? Is it unlimited?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Dear Tony, it's always a pleasure to answer all your questions and make sure that you fully understand the government's actions.

When it comes to what we announced today, we announced a really great strategy. I had the chance to talk with Premier Ford again this morning. He was actually very supportive. You can see his last tweets. We've been working closely with him to make sure that auto workers in Ontario will be well supported. That is why today—

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

That's great, Minister, but my question goes back to your visit to China.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I'm sorry, Madam Chair—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Let's have one person at a time. Please allow the witness to answer the question.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Yes, my colleague has a long question, so obviously I have the chance to have a long answer as well.

When it comes to our auto strategy today, our auto strategy was all about supporting auto workers and attracting new investments. We're attracting investments, we hope from Korea, from Europe—Germany—and also from China. Our goal is to make sure we can support our 500,000 auto workers, who need to be supported because they're victims of the unjustified and unjustifiable tariffs by the American administration.

At the same time, we are working to—

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Minister, I was one of those auto workers for four years at General Motors in St. Catharines, a company that has been in operation—

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I'm sorry; I was not—

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

—since 1927. You don't have to tell me about the 500,000 workers. I know that fact, Minister, because we live it in Ontario. The auto sector is hugely important.

I'm going back to my question.

Did you know that in December the RCMP ended the use of its Chinese-made drones because of high security risks, primarily due to their country of origin? Madam Minister, do you know, for example, if the RCMP or CSIS has a policy that would prevent them from purchasing a Chinese EV?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Tony, I won't have the luxury of interrupting you in the way that you're interrupting me.

With all due respect, my answer to you is that we know we have to make sure we protect Canadians' privacy, and protecting communities will always be a priority. I'm really glad that you were once an auto worker, because I have a lot of time and respect for auto workers, including for you, my dear colleague.

That being said—

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Minister, if that is indeed a fact—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Let's have one person at a time.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

—why was it, when you came down to my riding during the election campaign, that you made an arrangement with the Unifor workers? They actually helped out the two Liberal candidates in my riding and did election campaign work that day.

Essentially, Madam Minister, what you did was promise that you would protect their jobs, and you have failed to deliver. I would suggest that you stabbed those workers in the back for your electoral fortunes. Do you know what? They deserve better than that.

This electric vehicle mandate you had in place is too little, too late for workers in St. Catharines. There used to be 10,000 workers in that community, with three plants going three shifts a day. Now there's a two-million-square-foot facility with fewer than 700 people working there. In fact, after 10 years, I would say this government's position has been one of failure when it comes to the auto sector.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

If I can answer my colleague, first and foremost, he should be looking at himself and his government, the Harper government. At that time, GM was bailed out with $28 billion from Canadian taxpayers, and there was no job guarantee. That's one thing.

Second, Unifor reacted very positively today to our announcement.

Third, I just don't understand why the Conservatives.... Even the colleague from Bowmanville—Oshawa North is in Washington right now, and he's saying basically that President Trump—