Natural Resources committee  Yes. When you're talking about first nations equity participation, there are steps, because equity participation means, first of all, financing. But we are developing their partnerships now. When I look at mines like the Troilus Mine or the Raglan Mine—and this is also the case w

Natural Resources committee  Yes, to some extent. When you sit down with the natives to negotiate...we have agreements where natives participate in activities as contractors, as I said. It's progressive learning. We should develop more entrepreneurship with the native communities because they are not used t

Natural Resources committee  If you are saying that you will come back at 10 or 15 after five, we are ready to stay, if you wish. If you're not, it's going to be over.

Natural Resources committee  I want to say to Mr. McGuinty that there has been huge progress. I remember when I was operating in the mines in the early 1980s. We may have had natives as crusher operators or helpers. Now you have technicians, human resource coordinators, or managers. So there is progress, but

Natural Resources committee  Are you talking about the minerals that are exported from Quebec to be processed?

Natural Resources committee  No, not processed. The amount of mineral that is processed once and then exported and the amount of mineral that is imported into Quebec to be processed are more or less the same. It balances out. All aluminum production in Canada is done with imported bauxite and alumina. It co

Natural Resources committee  Good practices are exchanged constantly. For training, technological development or work practices, for example, we have a Canada-wide training organization that is trying to standardize training all across Canada. So the good practices we use or develop in Quebec go out to the

Natural Resources committee  Clearly, there is an evolution in the jobs and in the expertise and experience of the employees. I have worked in the mines as an operator. I have managed mines. Aboriginal people worked as technicians, mechanics and so on. They are ready, willing and able to learn. It's a questi

Natural Resources committee  In the south at the moment, we have access to electricity and gas. In the north, we do not. What we do is ship fuel oil or diesel to the sites by truck or by boat, store it there and use generators to produce electricity. That's how it works. So that's why mining companies are t

Natural Resources committee  In Quebec?

Natural Resources committee  As mentioned in the presentation, from 1999 to 2000, the value of exported and imported minerals was about $15 billion…

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Madam. First, like all industrial sectors, the mining sector is trying to become more automated, mechanized and so forth. In part, that is to reduce the workers' exposure to danger where necessary and, in part, it is to improve procedures and systems. That said, as y

Natural Resources committee  On the matter of royalties, everyone is demanding that they be higher. We also deal with the workforce issue. Maybe I should skip to the conclusion, which is called “Message à retenir”. The message there is that metals are essential for our modern way of life, that the mining ind

Natural Resources committee  I am talking about this one, where we are talking about the impact of the mining industry, of mining companies, on the economy. As I mentioned, that is 1.4% of the companies, but it represents 12% of the exports. On the next page, we show the economic impact of mining companie

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee members. On behalf of the Québec Mining Association, thank you for your kind invitation to present to this committee the position of the Quebec mining industry with respect to northern development. As you've said, with me today are Mr. Jean-