SoVote

Mr. Bernard Généreux (Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, CPC)

Feb/3/23 12:39:52 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-34

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my esteemed colleague from Abitibi, who sits on the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology and is the best at promoting his beloved region. I have many things in common with him. I, too, am a member of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, and last year we witnessed the sale of a certain company, Neo Lithium, to be specific. The company, which now belongs to a Chinese group, does not have projects in Canada, but does have one in Argentina. Will the bill help us hang onto our companies or our rare minerals that we want to develop, and that are highly abundant in Abitibi? Will the bill prevent this type of thing, or, at the very least, reduce the potential impact of these decisions in Canada?

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Context: House Hansard - 153 - Feb/3/23

Mr. Sébastien Lemire

Feb/3/23 12:41:08 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-34

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my fellow Quebecker, and I feel I can call him that because his presence at the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology means that we talk even more about Quebec. I really want to highlight his always relevant contribution on issues related to economic development. He is an entrepreneur, as he likes to remind us. I would like to remind him that my region is called Abitibi—Témiscamingue. It is important to be inclusive, and my constituents would be upset with me if I did not mention it. With regard to the member's question, the sale of Neo Lithium did raise a lot of questions, first of all because the mechanism was not automatically triggered. It was an acquisition, but at the same time, the portion of Neo Lithium that was in Canada was an empty shell. The only thing Canadian about it was its head office. How could Canada's best interest have been protected? That said, some serious reflection is required regarding the importance of owning our resources. We are living in a time of increasing resource scarcity. Strategic critical minerals come to mind, but this is true across a range of areas, so we need to be able to maintain ownership of our resources to further fuel our industries. Take Lion Electric, for example. It would be absolutely fantastic if we could supply that company with lithium. However, if we send all of our lithium elsewhere—for example for Tesla vehicles because it is great to provide Tesla vehicles with Quebec lithium—we will be neglecting our own economic development. That raises a lot of questions for me. I think that we need to make a major change in terms of our national economy. We need to start protecting our businesses.

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Context: House Hansard - 153 - Feb/3/23

Mr. Sébastien Lemire

Feb/3/23 12:45:50 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-34

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Saint-Jean for delivering such an accurate analysis. Once again, I would like to highlight the work that is being done at the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology. As a result of the Neo Lithium study, we have undertaken a study on strategic critical minerals. Even before the last election was called, I criticized the fact that Canada had no national strategy on strategic critical minerals. A strategy was then created based on the work of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology. In my view, it is fundamental to ensure that processing can happen on site at the mine, in order to highlight the key role of the region where the resource and mine are located. First of all, there are obvious savings to be had in terms of transportation costs, as well as an environmental benefit, but above all, it is the best way to protect our industries, particularly the automotive industry. We know there is a lot of back-and-forth involved. An automotive part can cross the border 50 times or so. However, if processing happens at the mine, it would ensure that our national economy is protected.

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Context: House Hansard - 153 - Feb/3/23

Mr. Sébastien Lemire

Feb/3/23 12:47:20 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-34

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Simcoe North, a rising star in the Conservative Party. I am always interested in seeing his progress. What is happening with China is worrisome. We know that China controls 80% of the lithium market. If we want a strong domestic economy, since globalization is basically over, we have to be able to protect our domestic economy and ensure that our companies have the supplies they need, especially chips for building electric vehicles. We have to put ourselves and Quebec first.

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