Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay on Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

With regard to the information revealed in the “Blood Gold Report,” which indicates that the Russian economy benefits from mining in Africa to the tune of $3.4 billion dollars Canadian, thanks in particular to the involvement of the Wagner Group, a private military company financed by the Russian state, as well as the activities of Canadian mining companies in Africa: (a) what information has the government received on the activities of two Canadian mining companies, Barrick Gold and B2Gold, operating under the Malian military regime, in connection with these revelations; (b) has the government contacted Barrick Gold or B2Gold on this subject, or does it plan to do so; (c) has the Canadian government assessed the national security implications associated with the fact that these two Canadian mining companies have made tax payments of $1.8 billion to the Russian-backed Malian regime since 2022, and are thus indirectly financing Russia’s war effort in Ukraine; (d) are there or will there be any measures, economic or otherwise, in place to prevent Canadian mining companies from indirectly financing Russia’s war effort in Ukraine; (e) are there or will there be any measures, economic or otherwise, in place with the Malian regime to make it impossible for Canadian companies to do business with the Russian state’s trading partners, including the Wagner Group; (f) how much has Canada provided to these two mining companies in grants, contributions and loans for each year since fiscal year 2019, inclusively; and (g) how much have these two mining companies paid in taxes to Canada for each year since fiscal year 2019, inclusively?