Tausi Insider

The remote Ring of Fire region, located 550 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, has been touted by the Ontario government as a key part of its plan to produce battery metals domestically. A top Canadian federal government official has raised doubts about whether Ontario’s Ring of Fire region will ever be developed, pouring cold water on a critical minerals project that the provincial government has championed and the United States administration has expressed interest in funding. Jeff Labonté, assistant deputy minister for lands and minerals at Natural Resources Canada, told senior leadership at the Neskantaga First Nation in a meeting on Nov. 17 that it’s possible no mines will be built in the region, and that there is no guarantee Ottawa will ever come forward with the roughly $1-billion in funding needed for development to proceed. Mr. Labonté joined Natural Resources Canada in 1993 and is the government’s foremost expert on critical minerals. His skepticism comes as a key environmen...

Canada is falling behind in the race to electrification. Haven Daley/The Associated Press Brian Kingston is president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association. The electric vehicle (EV) transformation is rapidly picking up speed, with automakers committing an estimated US$1.2-trillion to electrification through 2030 to build tens of millions of electric vehicles, more than double the amount from only one year ago. As more EVs come to market, countries around the world are rapidly building charging infrastructure and supporting citizens in the transition to electric. But while other countries race ahead to an electrified future, Canada is driving on a low battery. According to the EV Readiness Index , developed by global accounting firm Ernst & Young, Canada has fallen from eighth place in 2021 to 13th in 2022 of the world’s top 14 vehicle markets. The main reasons? A lack of ambition on charging infrastructure and consumer incentives. The most recent assessment...