New Critical Minerals Strategy Outlines Ambitious Plan for Canada to Advance Global Climate Action

VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 9, 2022 /CNW/ - Canada's new Critical Minerals Strategy is an ambitious plan with transformative potential to grow our nation's economy and accelerate Indigenous reconciliation by building on Canada's position as a leading, responsible supplier of the critical minerals and metals the world needs to transition to a low carbon future, says the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC).

"Importantly, the strategy recognizes that a predictable and timely permitting and regulatory process across all orders of government is imperative to meet the growing global demand for critical minerals produced here in British Columbia and throughout Canada," said Michael Goehring President and CEO of MABC. "We welcome the Government of Canada's commitment to expedite project permitting and adopt the principle of "one project, one assessment" when undertaking environmental assessments with provincial authorities to increase timeliness and process certainty for major mine developments."

MABC has advocated for the federal and provincial governments to support Indigenous nations to build the governance, administrative and technical capacity required to participate ? on their own terms ? in government-to-government and shared decision-making processes.

"We welcome federal government action through the National Benefits Sharing Framework and the Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships Program to enable Indigenous nations to participate in and benefit from critical minerals projects within their traditional territories. MABC also supports enabling Indigenous co-ownership and equity positions in critical mineral projects and infrastructure such as clean energy and electrical transmission projects to advance economic reconciliation," said Goehring.

With abundant critical minerals and existing and potential secondary processing and manufacturing facilities, British Columbia and Canada have an outsized opportunity to bolster domestic and allied defence and security objectives while tackling climate change here and abroad.

"Canada is not the only jurisdiction with critical mineral reserves," said Goehring. "With the launch of this strategy, we have a limited window of opportunity to demonstrate to our allies and global investors that Canada can execute on this strategy and deliver real progress at each stage of the critical minerals value chain."

MABC is the voice of the British Columbia's steelmaking coal, metal and mineral producers, smelters, and advanced development companies. Our industry benefits all British Columbians and supports more than 35,000 jobs and over 3,700 small, medium, and indigenous affiliated businesses in every corner of the province through an annual spend of nearly $3 billion on goods and services. Our members' products have among the lowest carbon footprints globally and are helping the world transition to a cleaner, low-carbon future; safely and responsibly.

SOURCE Mining Association of British Columbia