Mr. Speaker, the Canadian minerals and metals industry consistently contributes an average of 4% to Canada's GDP, supports almost 400,000 direct jobs and has been a major contributor to our positive balance of trade. Not only that, the mining industry has become the largest private sector employer of aboriginal Canadians.
However, there is a serious challenge due to declining mineral reserves. The solution is new geoscience and exploration investment. The Conservative Party strongly supports this increased investment in geoscience programs and research because it supports exploration, builds mineral reserves and provides valuable data to support public policy decisions.
It is time to invest in geoscience and the future of this dynamic innovative sector of the Canadian economy, which is important to so many Canadians.