Ottawa’s critical mineral strategy calls for faster project approvals | 24CA News

Canada might want to velocity up regulatory selections on essential mineral initiatives if it desires to turn into a worldwide chief in battery manufacturing, electrical autos, wind generators and photo voltaic panels, says a brand new nationwide technique being launched right now.

“Simply put, there is no green energy transition without critical minerals,” the federal authorities’s newest essential minerals technique says.

“[The government of Canada] recognizes that to meet our ambitious climate and economic objectives to transition to a net-zero economy, additional mechanisms must be in place to expedite and facilitate strategic critical mineral projects from investment and funding opportunities, through regulatory approvals and development, to production.”

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson unveiled the technique in Vancouver on Friday.

Minerals like lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt and copper are essential elements for electrical automobile, pc chip and weapons manufacturing. With demand for low- and no-emissions expertise anticipated to skyrocket because the world strikes to a post-carbon economic system, Friday’s technique foreshadows shortages of those essential supplies — or what it calls “non-like-minded countries” weaponizing entry to valuable minerals.

Although China is not talked about by identify in Natural Resources Canada’s technique, some observers have warned that Beijing may reduce off entry to essential minerals to foster its personal high-tech industries. Currently, China controls a lot of the world’s essential mineral processing.

To counter Beijing’s supremacy on this discipline, Canada, the U.S. and its allies have dedicated to boosting extraction, processing, manufacturing and recycling of essential minerals.

Increasing extraction will imply extra Canadian mines. But earlier than any new mining challenge can proceed, it should bear a rigorous environmental assessment and allowing course of — typically greater than as soon as.

The new technique doc acknowledges that quicker environmental evaluations and regulatory oversight are wanted to satisfy the problem — and that Canada’s present patchwork of challenge assessment processes is not as much as the duty. 

“For major development projects where both federal and provincial impact or environmental assessments are required,” says the technique doc, “the Government of Canada is committed to meeting the objective of ‘one project, one assessment.'”

Aside from ensuring initiatives cross the end line, the technique requires “meaningful participation” by Indigenous communities in selections on challenge growth and the advantages that stream from it. It additionally acknowledges that the federal government goes to need to make vital investments in transportation and electrical energy infrastructure to entry these essential minerals.

“New infrastructure investments aimed at unlocking new mineral projects in resource-rich regions — including roads, rail, and ports — are needed to help Canada’s mining industry provide the minerals and metals required to reach net zero by 2050,” says the doc.

The technique additionally alerts Canada desires to work with worldwide allies to develop a tracing course of to determine commerce in so-called “conflict minerals.” Such a regular, it says, may “prevent products from conflict, child labour and environmentally poor operations from entering the supply chains.”

The technique does not include any new cash. But within the final funds, the federal authorities dedicated as much as $3.8 billion over eight years to pursuing a essential minerals technique — together with a 30 per cent essential mineral exploration tax.

That similar funds additionally earmarked cash for working with provinces and territories to assist builders navigate the regulatory course of, particularly within the North.

In October, Wilkinson and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne introduced that the federal authorities would stop international state-owned enterprises from proudly owning and collaborating in Canada’s essential mineral sector.

Shortly after that announcement, the Canadian authorities ordered three Chinese useful resource corporations to promote their pursuits in Canadian essential minerals. The authorities launched amendments Wednesday to modernize the Investment Canada Act.