Drive two hours north of Ottawa, put on a hard hat and bright orange vest, descend into a pit — and you find yourself on the frontline in the fight to be part of the new, green economy.
A mining project might not be what comes to mind when you think of the transition to a lower emissions economy. But embedded in electric vehicles, solar panels and hydrogen fuel storage are metals and minerals that come from mines like the one in Lac-des-Îles, Que.
The graphite mine, owned by the company Northern Graphite, is just one of many projects aimed at extracting what are now officially dubbed “critical minerals” — substances of significant strategic and economic importance to the future of national economies.
Lac-des-Îles is the only significant graphite mining project in North America, accounting for Canada’s contribution to an industry dominated by China.
CBC News: The House10:49An inside look at a critical minerals mine — and Canada’s push to win the new gold rush
Hugues Jacquemin and Kirsty Liddicoat of Northern Graphite take The House on a tour of their mine in Quebec, and talk about what Canada needs to do to lead the way on critical minerals development.
Experts and industry proponents say Canada has the potential to be a major player in critical minerals — but it needs to change the scope and scale of investment and regulation in order to get there.
For Northern Graphite, in the short-term, that means money. Hugues Jacquemin, Northern Graphite’s CEO, told CBC’s The House during a tour of the Quebec facility that the company is trying to open a mine in Bissett Creek, Ont., to produce graphite that could go into EV batteries.
But they need to raise $150 million to kick-start production.
Hugues Jacquemin, CEO of Northern Graphite, stands in a pit mine nearing the end of its commercial life in Lac-des-Îles, Que. (Jennifer Chevalier/CBC)
“No investor is willing to take 100 per cent of the risk. We need someone to step in alongside the investor and support part of the risk because today there is no demand for battery materials in Canada or in the U.S. at the moment,” Jacquemin said.
“So we need something to help us jump-start the whole supply chain so that we can be there three or four years from now, when the market is buying materials.”
The company says it expects to seek significant financial support from the federal government, but nothing has been confirmed so far.
For its part, the federal government says it’s committed to helping build a critical minerals industry in Canada and recently released its official strategy to do so.
“We need to ensure that we have access to these critical minerals to be able to successfully go through the energy transition and fight climate change,” Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in an interview with The House.
Wilkinson told host Catherine Cullen that while the government is willing to work with companies, it can’t be the only source of funding.
“The source of all capital doesn’t come from the government. Government can actually do things to help kick-start those [projects]. But obviously companies need to be able to [raise] private capital,” he said.
Wilkinson pointed to a number of measures the government has in place to help Canadian companies develop critical minerals projects, including the Canada Growth Fund, new tax credits for green investments and government funding for infrastructure to help facilitate projects.
Project timelines a concern
The Canadian government is far from the only one interested in critical minerals mining in this country. The U.S. Department of Defence has expressed interest in projects here — and a willingness to invest. Jacquemin said Northern Graphite plans to apply for American investment as well.
Critics — including Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre — have said it simply takes too long to develop a mining project in Canada. Northern Graphite, for example, has owned Bissett Creek since 2012, and the mine is not yet operational.
Wilkinson said the average mining project typically takes around 12 to 15 years but “that’s still too long.” He said the government is aiming for something more like five or six years.
CBC News: The House49:39Mission critical: Is Canada lagging behind in the critical minerals race?
The House takes an in-depth look at Canada’s efforts to become a leader in the development of critical minerals. Hugues Jacquemin and Kirsty Liddicoat, executives of Northern Graphite, explain their efforts to expand. Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson explains how the government is responding. Mark Podlasly talks about his efforts to help First Nations secure their interests, and experts Nate Wallace, Alisha Hiyate and Ian London weigh in on what Canada should be doing to respond to what some are calling the new gold rush.
Ian London, executive director of the Canadian Critical Minerals and Materials Alliance, told Cullen that Canada has the “pieces of the puzzle” to unlock Canada’s critical mineral potential, but more needs to be done.
“Prospective customers … want operating facilities, not aspirations,” he said.
Environmental impact, Indigenous participation
Perhaps the most significant challenges to the mining industry come from concerns about environmental impacts and the role of Indigenous communities.
On the environmental front, advocacy groups like Environmental Defence worry that mining projects carry with them dangers of waste and environmental damage.
“We need to recognize that more mining likely needs to happen, but it needs to be governed responsibly, and we can’t use the rush to extract more minerals for the transition to be an excuse for watering down environmental standards,” said Nate Wallace, a program manager with the group.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford shows a draft agreement with Chief Cornelius Wabasse of Webequie First Nation, left, and Marten Falls Chief Bruce Achneepineskum, centre, in March 2020 after signing an agreement to move forward on building the Northern Road Link in the Ring of Fire area. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press )
Wallace noted that with some projects, there’s a risk that the benefit of unlocking reduced emissions from innovations like electric vehicles would not be worth the cost of the project’s greenhouse gas output. He cited the controversial Ring of Fire proposals in Ontario as one example.
“There’s also significant environmental concerns about that project because it’s covered by peatlands, and that’s basically equivalent to Canada’s Amazon rainforest, in terms of being a massive carbon sink,” he said.
London said he agrees that a balance needs to be struck between environmental impacts and developing projects. He said that dialogue should continue on controversial projects, but Canada’s focus should be more immediate.
“Our priority should be set on projects which are closer to — not shovel ready — but actually going into production,” he said.
Wilkinson said the government is “very focused” on making sure the environmental cost of mining is minimized.
“There is no such thing as a mining project that has zero impact,” he said. “But there certainly are projects that can be done in a way where the impacts are modest and that there is a plan for how you remediate in the aftermath of the mine.”
The Ring of Fire proposals are also a key test of how governments and companies interact with Indigenous communities. The Neskantaga First Nation has said it was not meaningfully consulted on the proposals and has protested them.
First Nations take their message directly to Ontario government — no resource extraction without consent
Watch this uncut exchange as leaders from five First Nations in northwestern Ontario and NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa speak to reporters after demonstrating their continued opposition to mining in the Ring of Fire without their prior consent at Question Period.
Mark Podlasly, an executive with the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, acknowledged that Indigenous people have been wronged in the past when it comes to development.
“Many First Nations are concerned that this new rush for critical minerals, towards the net zero transition, is going to be a repeat of what’s happened in the past,” he told Cullen.
“How it should work is Indigenous people have to be included in the environmental and economic decisions of the projects from the start.”
Mining faces a reputational challenge
Kirsty Liddicoat, Northern Graphite’s COO, said the mining industry also faces challenges when it comes to building up its own reputation and workforce. Along with domestic concerns, Canadian companies are frequently criticized for their actions overseas.
“I think mining as an industry is poorly understood and it doesn’t necessarily have the best reputation. So that’s leading us to a number of challenges with social acceptability and talent,” she said.
“We need to be attracting the smartest people to the biggest problems that we have as a world, to help us make this shift.”
Kirsty Liddicoat, chief operating officer of Northern Graphite, holds a rock with graphite ore at the company’s Lac-des-Îles mine. (Jennifer Chevalier/CBC)
London said the mining industry has taken steps to build in more corporate responsibility but there will always be a tradeoff in an extractive industry.
“A colleague of mine said when it comes to green technologies, amongst all that green, there’s always going to be a little black,” he said.
“It is an extractive industry, there will be some negative impact. But overall, it’s tremendously positive.”
TORONTO – Unifor says workers at a Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., have voted to join the union.
The union says it’s Walmart’s first warehouse to unionize in Canada.
Unifor national president Lana Payne says the employees stood up for their rights and the union is excited to get to work on their first collective agreement.
Unifor’s campaign at Walmart’s facility began in December 2023.
The vote was held from Sept. 10 to 12.
Unifor represents 315,000 workers across the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
MONTREAL – A 20-year-old man arrested over an alleged Islamic State terror plot to kill Jews in New York City will return to court in December in Montreal.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, a Pakistani national living in Ontario, was arrested last week in Ormstown, Que., allegedly on his way across the border into New York state.
Khan has been charged in the United States with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization, and officials are seeking to have him extradited to stand trial.
He was not present for a hearing today in Quebec Superior Court, where lawyers said they are waiting for extradition documents and for authorization from Canadian officials before proceeding in the case, which will return before a judge on Dec. 6.
U.S. authorities allege that Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, intended to use “automatic and semi-automatic weapons” in a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn around Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.
Authorities allege he began planning his attack in November 2023.
Earlier this week, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Khan arrived in Canada in June 2023 on a student visa.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
