Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P., Minister of Natural Resources: It’s a very important issue. Certainly, the timeline is short for a project involving so much infrastructure. We have worked hard with our provincial and territorial counterparts. I have a meeting with Minister Fitzgibbon on Wednesday to discuss the issue. Of course, energy and electricity fall under provincial jurisdiction. We know that we have a role to play in supporting the project, particularly when it comes to funding.

Obviously, we can’t have a situation where there is a cost for the people living in the provinces and territories in question, and we have some tools that we want to use, but right now, we are negotiating with our provincial and territorial partners. I am very optimistic that we can come up with a plan that works for Canada and for the provinces and territories, including Quebec, since Quebec is where the energy is coming from.

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P., Minister of Natural Resources: There is a definition of how we deem things to be critical, and part of it is the resource availability in this country. Part of it is also related to where we actually see skyrocketing demand on a go-forward basis, and that is largely driven by minerals that are going to be in some way tied to the energy transition — not solely those that are used in batteries but, for example, uranium, which is used in nuclear power.

At this moment, I don’t think gold would fit those criteria. However, what we have said is that the list is going to be reviewed every three years, and folks can make arguments. There are other minerals that are not presently on there that people are making the argument should be on there. That is why it is intended to be an evergreen list on a go-forward basis.

As you would know very well, senator, gold is one area where Canada has actually thrived in terms of being able to advance the industry. It is a pretty healthy sector. As I say, I would never say never. That’s the reason we made it an evergreen list.

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P., Minister of Natural Resources: Thank you for the very important question. The Atlantic Loop is, as you say, a critical project with respect to electricity for Atlantic Canada — enabling the phase-out of coal, and the utilization of non-emitting energy, but also setting up Atlantic Canada for what will be necessary in terms of the augmentation of electricity, which we will need if we are looking to electrify transportation, home heating and a whole range of applications — let alone the need to have an abundance of clean energy to attract industry to come and produce products.

The Atlantic Loop is extremely important. I have been actively working with all of the provinces by speaking with Premier Houston, Premier Higgs and Premier Furey and, of course, with the Government of Quebec. It is a priority for all of us, but it is also something we have to be thoughtful about in terms of how we put it together. Certainly, the federal government recognizes it needs to come to the table to be part of the solution. That is something that we are actively working on. I would say, though, that we do intend to target arriving at some kind of agreement in principle within the first several months of next year. As you say, time is of the essence.

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P., Minister of Natural Resources: Thank you. I think it is an important area. It’s also an area that I know reasonably well. I used to work for a biomass energy company that actually used wood waste to produce thermal energy, which provides all the energy at the University of British Columbia. No natural gas is used there.

It is the case that Canada, on a dollars-per-cubic-metre basis, does not do very well in terms of the utilization of our fibre resource. There are a number of reasons for that, but we need to do better. Part of that is about better utilizing what we often term as waste. That is a critically important area. It is part of the new strategy that we are looking to put into place at Natural Resources Canada. We’re really focusing on that, which is driving the dollars per cubic metre up, which means investments in technologies and innovation relating to the utilization of waste.

I know this is an area that you have been involved with for some time. We are very interested in it as well.