OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 3, 2022 /CNW/ – The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) welcomes today’s Fall Economic Statement, which includes several commitments that will provide support for the country’s mining industry, one of the most significant contributors to the economy in the natural resources sector.
The government’s announcement of a tax credit for clean technologies of up to 30% for investments in clean technologies, with a focus on net-zero technologies, battery storage solutions, electric industrial vehicles and small modular reactors, signals its strong support for enhanced electrification, a process that has long been underway in Canada’s mining sector.
“This investment tax credit will serve to benefit Canada’s mining industry in several ways as the deployment of zero emission vehicles and non GHG emission solutions is accelerating across our sector,” said Pierre Gratton, MAC’s President and CEO. “The urgency of addressing climate change and the need for materials to support technological evolution is a priority for our industry and this tax credit will support our sector in accomplishing its climate action priorities.”
The fragility of supply chains exposed by the pandemic and geopolitical stresses have highlighted the need for new mines and infrastructure projects. The numerous complex processes that a project must navigate before receiving approval to proceed means these projects currently cannot be built in time to meet Canada’s shared climate change, supply chain security or critical minerals goals.
The Fall Economic Statement proposes several measures that, if implemented well, will enhance Canada’s permitting process and by extension its ability to provide the mined products, including critical minerals, essential to meet both domestic demand and that of Canada’s allies. Specifically, the intention to provide up to $1.28 billion over six years to several federal departments, including the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), is a positive step in ensuring the mining permitting process is improved.
“Additional resources for agencies such as the IAAC are welcome and it will be critical that they be spent wisely,” said Gratton. “To date the IAAC has done an unsatisfactory job of tailoring project reviews. It is imperative that more knowledgeable subject-matter experts, rather than just more staff, be hired to contribute to more efficient project reviews in the time frame required to fight climate change and address geopolitical realities. Canada has had tremendous success attracting new investment into the battery value chain on the promise of a reliable supply of battery materials, and now we have to deliver.”
The Fall Economic Statement also signals that more support for the critical minerals value chain will be forthcoming in Budget 2023, in part to respond to the Deficit Reduction Act of the United States. Other aspects of the Fall Economic Statement that will benefit Canada’s mining sector include:
- A forthcoming hydrogen investment tax credit to support investments in clean hydrogen production.
- Additional details on Canada’s Clean Growth Fund, which will be available to many companies, including those in the mining industry and leaders in the oil sands mining sector pursuing major carbon abatement technology solutions such as carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).
- The launch of a Canadian Innovation and Investment Agency which will help some of Canada’s most innovative companies scale up, commercialize, grow, and create jobs in a changing global economy.
- Additional funds to support skills training, including additional funding of $802.1 million over three years for the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy.
The mining industry is a major sector of Canada’s economy, contributing $125 billion to the national GDP and is responsible for 22% of Canada’s total domestic exports. Canada’s mining sector employs 665,000 people directly and indirectly across the country. The industry is proportionally the largest private sector employer of Indigenous peoples in Canada and a major customer of Indigenous-owned businesses.
About MAC
The Mining Association of Canada is the national organization for the Canadian mining industry. Its members account for most of Canada’s production of base and precious metals, uranium, diamonds, metallurgical coal, mined oil sands and industrial minerals and are actively engaged in mineral exploration, mining, smelting, refining and semi-fabrication. Please visit www.mining.ca.
SOURCE Mining Association of Canada (MAC)
