Lack of Federal Mining Investment Oversight Leaving Arctic Vulnerable to China: Macdonald-Laurier Institute

The federal government’s critical minerals strategy not only fails to procure investment in Canada’s north, it leaves the Arctic vulnerable to security risks from Beijing and other bad actors, according to a recent report. Chinese state-owned enterprises seeking to “gain a foothold” in Canada are turning to the acquisition of junior mining companies in a bid to dominate the earth’s supply of rare minerals, says a paper from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. China is taking advantage of Canada’s minimal regulatory supervision of foreign investment, the report says, noting the gaps left by the division of responsibilities between Ottawa and its provincial or territorial counterparts. Combined with an “acute shortage” of North American investment capital, the gaps in oversight provide China with a clever way to obtain what it truly wants: access to the Arctic....