:
Thank you. It is really a pleasure to be here with you today.
Like you, we are very interested in the role we play in the minerals and metals sector as well as in the development of resources in the north. I am going to make a brief presentation on our role in this sector and more specifically in the Canadian North.
[English]
I believe you all have the presentation. I'll just spend about 10 to 12 minutes on the presentation itself and, as mentioned, we'll get into some of the interactive dialogue, which I think will be of some value.
To go to the first slide to start, our mandate at Natural Resources Canada is to support sustainable development practices through science and technology, gathering and disseminating analysis and information at both the domestic and the international level, and working in collaboration with our external partners, such as industry, non-governmental organizations, aboriginals, academia, and domestic and foreign governments. As well, we work closely with our federal departments, such as Environment Canada, Transport Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, DFAIT, Industry Canada, et cetera, that are interested in northern development and natural resource development.
As to my role specifically as the assistant deputy minister for the minerals and metals sector at Natural Resources Canada, we're the lead federal department that provides expertise on various issues, whether it be policy or science and technology related to exploration and mineral and metal development. I'll go to the next slide now.
[Translation]
As you may know, we share responsibilities with our provincial counterparts south of the 60th parallel.
[English]
The provinces here are the resource owners and the federal role is related to a specific legislated authority, such as fisheries, navigation, or transboundary trade, and we share responsibility for these issues such as environmental protection, health and safety, and economic development. The major difference between being south of 60 versus north of 60 is that the federal government manages resource development north of 60, with the exception of Yukon, which, as of 2003, has had the responsibility devolved to them.
The Canada is the principal minister responsible for northern issues, and works closely with departments such as our own, DFO, Environment Canada, Transportation Canada, et cetera.
Our role at Natural Resources Canada is to promote sustainable development, and we're active in supporting the environmental reviews of resource projects led by review boards in the north. We provide geoscience expertise. I understand that my colleague Brian Gray is to appear in front of you in the near future to answer some of your questions related to their specific role as well.
Again, for my part, we review technical documentation and provide scientific and technical expertise in the areas of minerals and metals sciences, including expertise related to things such as acid rock drainage, waste management, mine effluent, and metal leaching.
Our goal is to ensure responsible development that reduces environmental impacts and maximizes benefits to communities and all Canadians.
The next slide, as you can see from the graph at the top right, shows how exploration spending in the north fluctuates over the years. However, we predict that the resource-rich north will become a new frontier for Canada. For example, in 2010, mineral exploration and deposit spending was $498.1 million for the three territories, and accounted for almost one in every five four dollars that Canada spent on mineral exploration. In 2010, the three territories accounted for 6.3% of the value of total Canadian mineral production.
Diamond mining represents 88% of northern mineral production in terms of value, and there is clearly an opportunity to diversify and grow in other commodities. That's going to be one of the themes, I'm sure, that we'll talk about a bit.
We note an interest in the north over the period 2006-2010, where we saw a 53% increase in total mineral production; and given recent interest, we see potential for this trend to continue. Again, we could probably talk about some of the factors that are leading to that increase globally.
The next slide is the one with the nice picture of Agnico-Eagle Mines. Building on what I just talked about, mining is the main driver of economic activity in northern Canada. This includes north of 60, but also northern regions of many provinces. So it's not just north of 60. For example, the Plan Nord in Quebec, the Ring of Fire in Ontario, and the northern regions of British Columbia are all examples where mining developments are seen as key economic drivers for the various communities in these provinces.
North of 60 also has experienced positive socio-economic benefits. For example, in the Northwest Territories, the diamond mines represent between 36% and 41% of the territories' gross domestic product and provide direct and indirect employment for some 8,000 people, many of them aboriginals who provide services to these mining operations.
In Nunavut, Meadowbank is an example—and there's a picture there—of the positive socio-economic contributions to the region. As many of you may know, saw this firsthand during his northern tour not too long ago.
So the benefits from mining are significant and the impacts go far beyond the mining site itself. For example, Sudbury, Ontario, is an example of the socio-economic benefits of mining, showing how a cluster can benefit from mining. These benefits can include building infrastructure such as roads, railways, schools, community centres, health centres, and so on. Mining also provides some of the highest-paying jobs and generates other indirect and induced employment opportunities.
The next slide is just a map that depicts some of the northern economic development potential.
As I mentioned previously, there are opportunities to diversify the minerals and metals activity in the north. Currently some 48 mining projects are undergoing environmental assessment in Canada and 14 of these are located in the territories, representing somewhere between $7.5 billion and $8.5 billion in investment.
If these projects are realized, they will double the number of full-time jobs in the territories and, as you can see from the map, the new developments will diversify the commodity base to include commodities other than diamonds—which I spoke of already—to things such as gold, iron ore, zinc, lead, rare earth elements, et cetera. These are clusters which, if infrastructure were provided, would obviously benefit these mining developments, similar to, for example, the transmission line in northern British Columbia.
[Translation]
Of course together with these opportunities, there are also some challenges.
[English]
As I said, mining is a key economic driver for northern communities, but there are some challenges that go along with it. Addressing the challenges is essential to unlocking the resource potential. Projects are often located in remote areas where access to things such as labour, power, roads, railways, and ports is limited. Investing in infrastructure, such as education, skills, training, and regulatory improvements will facilitate mining developments and also promote other economic activities.
As well, outstanding land claims--again, talking about some of the challenges--contribute to uncertainty and investment risks. These risks, along with withdrawals of lands for conservation, have created some concerns by industry. There is work under way by federal governments related to land claims and land use planning that should improve the current situation.
Skill shortages are obviously not isolated to northern development, but given the population and education levels in the north, these shortages are fairly significant concerns, particularly if communities are to benefit from the economic development opportunities these projects present.
The regulatory processes vary in complexity and tend to be seen by industry, at times, as unpredictable, costly, and time-consuming. As well, the federal government is moving to devolve responsibility. This also creates some level of uncertainty. However, work is under way to improve the regulatory system, with the creation of CanNor and the northern project management office.
Lastly, geoscience investments are an important aspect for long-term success.
[Translation]
Canada's North is resource rich with significant potential. This potential will attract direct foreign investment. Natural Resources Canada works closely with other federal and territorial governments and other stakeholders. We have several programs focused on the north: geoscience; science and technology related to mineral development; regulatory and environmental improvements. Realizing the north's potential will require a focused effort to turn risks into opportunities.
[English]
With that, I'd be happy, along with my colleagues, to try to answer any questions you have.
First, I'm glad that you can relate to that project with your personal experience in the past. Again, that speaks a little bit to the history that all Canadians have with the natural resources sector and mining. You don't have to look too far before you can point to somebody you may know who is working in the industry, which is a good sign, I think.
You're absolutely right. The regulatory environment that we have in Canada is often cited as one of the biggest challenges, especially when you're talking to foreign investors. And when we look at the north, it just makes it that much more complicated, because we are in the process of devolving the responsibilities north of 60 to essentially where the system is south of 60.
So I'll speak specifically to north of 60. If you look at the three territories themselves, in Yukon back in 2003 we devolved those responsibilities, and there is essentially one entity that investors can go to when trying to get the necessary approvals to proceed. Similarly in Nunavut, with the land claims well in hand, there's one entity that companies can go to for, if you like, approvals and so on. I'll ask Ginny to get into a little bit more detail on the various elements.
In the Northwest Territories, there are some 13 boards that get involved in various elements from surface rights to land use planning, water, land use, and other aspects. So, absolutely, it is a bit more complicated, and given the devolving structure it just takes a little bit longer to get that balance between the environmental protection and treaty rights, where that is applicable, to allow aboriginal people to get involved and benefit from the development and, obviously, the economic potential.
With that, I'll ask my colleague Ginny to give you a little bit more detail in each of the three jurisdictions, if I may, Chair.
This is very interesting. I'm new to this committee, but I've spent a lot of time on the fisheries and the environment committees, and so I want to talk to you about a few things.
I'm an Alberta guy. I appreciate the fact that we have jurisdiction over our own resources there, very much so. I'm not going to go down that road, but I understand a lot of the problems when it comes to economic development, sustainable development, exploitation, and so on. Sitting on the environment committee for as long as I have, I constantly hear from various officials. I get it, whether it's an infrastructure project in my constituency or a mining development in the constituency, whether it's for coal-fired electrical generation, whatever the case might be. The regulatory process for environmental impact assessments is sometimes the bottleneck when it comes to getting some projects done and off the ground in a timely fashion.
You mentioned in your opening remarks that timeliness in the north is critical. We have two seasons in Canada: we have winter and the construction season. I'm going to ask you straight up how long these regulatory processes take. For example, if a new diamond mine were going to pop up some place up in the north, from start to finish, what are we looking at insofar as a timeline to get the various permits in place is concerned, to get this thing up and off the ground so that investors can see some results? What part does your department play in that process?
How has your department...? I'm not going to ask you to assess the capabilities of other departments; I don't think that's fair. But do you see any ways of streamlining or improving these things so that we can get both results we're looking for: the protection of the environment, but at the same time the economic opportunities that come with mining and exploration?
The second question I have for you is this. As I say, I grew up on a farm in Alberta. I can't tell you how many times we've had an oil and gas company come across and do a seismic test on our farmland. Now, of course, they don't share that information. One company does not share the information with another company; it's proprietary information. They may be looking at different depths, et cetera.
One hundred million dollars sounds like a lot of money, but not when you take a look at the vastness of the Canadian north. What is $100 million really going to tell us about where the various prospects are for metals and mining and so? How much of the repository of information is that going to fill up, in particular, where there are some voids or lack of knowledge right now?
And what does industry give back to us? Does it pay for that information? Is it publicly accessible information? When industry goes out and does any of its work in lieu of or on top of the information that it gets from the Government of Canada, does it provide any information back to us? Are there any agreements when it comes to sharing this information, or is just simply that we provide the service to industry and it goes about and does what it wants to do and we never hear from it again?