The House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources met on October 20, 2025, to continue its study of the development of critical minerals in Canada. Witnesses included Mark Tory (Defense Metals Corp.), Jeff Stibbard (JDS Energy and Mining Inc.), Robin Goad (Fortune Minerals Limited), Kelly Levis (Canadian National Railway Company), Réjean Girard (IOS Géosciences), Louis Ouellet (Union des Préfets-Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean), and Daniel Alessi (University of Alberta).
Mark Tory described his company's Wicheeda rare earth project in British Columbia, which is ready for a definitive feasibility study costing $30–50 million. He asked for government support to fund this study and for price floors to protect against Chinese market manipulation, noting that China controls over 70% of global rare earths and over 90% of downstream processing. He emphasized the need for streamlined permitting and for building a full Canadian supply chain from mine to magnet, including hydrometallurgical separation.
Jeff Stibbard argued that Canada's regulatory environment has deteriorated, with mine development timelines growing from five years in the 1990s to 15 years today, driving investment away. He recommended repealing Bill C-69, reducing federal overlap with provincial jurisdiction, and removing mandatory climate and gender review criteria from impact assessments. He disagreed with adding new government offices, saying fewer processes are needed, and stressed the importance of inspiring young Canadians to work in the north.
Robin Goad presented his company's NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper project in the Northwest Territories and Alberta, which has received U.S. and Canadian government grants. He recommended allowing feasibility study and environmental baseline costs to qualify as Canadian exploration expenses under flow-through financing, to help junior companies bridge funding gaps. He noted that China overproduces cobalt to drive down prices, and argued that government subsidies for battery manufacturing should require domestically sourced raw materials.
Kelly Levis outlined CN's role in transporting critical minerals, projecting 15,000–25,000 additional carloads by 2032 from emerging mines. She asked for railcar manufacturing incentives using Canadian steel, streamlined mine approvals, and stronger labour frameworks to prevent supply chain disruptions from strikes and leave stacking. She stated that CN has not studied the cost of rehabilitating the northern rail corridor between Matagami and Chapais, and would need guaranteed traffic volumes to invest.
Réjean Girard said that Canada's expertise stops at exploration, with no new critical mineral mines in Quebec for over 40 years. He argued that development costs of $80–100 million for studies are unrealistic for junior companies, and that the permitting process in Quebec is a "nightmare" where permits are not issued until all studies are complete, unlike in Australia. He called for harmonized federal-provincial guidelines and for setting a decent market price for minerals to make projects self-funding.
Louis Ouellet presented the Canadian northern corridor project, which would rehabilitate a 160-kilometre rail section from Lebel-sur-Quévillon to Chapais and connect to a deepwater port in Saguenay, at an estimated cost of $700 million for the regional portion. He asked the federal government to establish a project office to verify feasibility and attract users, noting that the region has a population of 258,000 and a military base to support development. He disagreed with the idea that social licence was the main obstacle to the GNL Québec project, citing transportation issues instead.
Daniel Alessi highlighted Canada's opportunity to build vertical domestic production chains, such as extracting lithium from sedimentary brines in western Canada and manufacturing batteries. He recommended increased federal research funding through programs like NSERC Alliance to attract and retain top talent, and noted that earth sciences enrolments have collapsed due to negative perceptions of resource industries. He argued that responsibly sourced minerals will increasingly matter to global buyers, and that Canada should pursue patentable processing technologies rather than exporting raw materials.
The committee agreed to schedule a seventh meeting to hear remaining priority witnesses and to provide drafting instructions to analysts, before starting the forestry study on the following Thursday.
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