We’re proud of our efforts to build consensus around a number of resource projects across northern Ontario. Take, for example, the Côté Gold project, where Mattagami and Flying Post First Nations play a substantial role in the development of that area, including very much the mine itself. In Greenstone, we see an extraordinary opportunity with the Kenogamisis development corporation, comprised of four Indigenous communities that have come to us and asked to play a vital role in the development of Greenstone and the surrounding area and the mining project. Similarly, the corridor to prosperity is an opportunity for all Indigenous communities in that area to unleash new health and social and economic benefits, to bring in better forms of energy, stronger broadband, better critical infrastructure.

This is a massive northern development opportunity. We’ll build consensus with those communities, and we’ll look forward to an opportunity to build the critical mineral mine of a world-class scale.

As somebody who has lived in a couple of those communities and worked closely with the leadership of some of those communities over the years—there is growing consensus that we can do these projects, that we can strike a fair balance, that we can build consensus and meet the demands of the single biggest environmental policy ever advanced by a subsovereign government, and that is to bring critical minerals from that region and other parts of northern Ontario into a fully integrated supply chain for electric vehicles and battery capacity. I’ve heard it from Indigenous communities. I’ve heard it from Indigenous businesses. The Minister of Mines has been working very hard to ensure that we do this the right way, and we’re going to get it done.

Thank you for the question from the member opposite.

This is a bill about building mines. It’s about bringing prosperity to northern Ontario. It’s a bill about securing the supply chain for critical minerals so that, in fact, the critical minerals that are produced in northern Ontario will be matched with the mining might in southern Ontario. These minerals, right now, are being secured in Russia and China and Congo, and we need those minerals secured in Ontario, out of northern Ontario. There is no compromise with the Indigenous duty to consult. There is no compromise with Ontario’s environmental standards. This is a world-class bill that will benefit every single citizen in Ontario.

Thanks again for the question from my colleague.

Our government, under Premier Ford’s leadership, has a very clear vision for this province. We are the first government focused on connecting supply chains in the north and south, so Ontarians across the province can share in economic benefits. Unlike previous governments, we are leveraging Ontario’s strengths in the mining and manufacturing sectors to build an integrated supply chain for EVs.

That’s why our government launched our Critical Minerals Strategy, and we will continue to execute on this plan.

I had the privilege of announcing the next round of recipients of the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund at PDAC this week. This fund leverages the expertise and innovation we have in Ontario’s critical minerals sector by funding research and development projects to secure the supply chain for critical minerals. The projects range from mining and mineral processing to the recovering and recycling of critical minerals. There are too many successful projects leveraging this fund to talk about in this short time, but what I can say is Ontario is taking action by making strategic investments—