At a time when almost all mining companies are foreign-owned, Quebec must be able to develop local players in this strategic sector, admits the boss of the FTQ solidarity fund, Janie C. Béïque.
“Yes, there is a reflection to be done to see how we could have independence at the mining level,” she said on the sidelines of a conference at the podium of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM).
Le Journal reported on Saturday that only two out of 22 mines are Quebec-owned. In comparison, in Ontario, 17 of the 35 mines are wholly or partly owned by companies headquartered there.
“We are a very present investor in the mining sector […] we have been investing in mining exploration for a long time,” explained Ms. Béïque.
But according to her, the difficulty comes when mining companies have to undertake large-scale exploitation.
“When they get to a certain size, the amount of dollars they need is so huge, at some point you have to choose them,” she explains.
However, the Fund promises to work to keep more Quebec players in this sector who will not only do mining.
“We must also work on the second transformation. Take out your things and send them elsewhere, they transform them and resell them to you at a higher price. It is not necessarily a winner as a society. We do not process enough in Quebec, ”she imagined.
Many more “green” assets
In addition, Ms. Béïque detailed her vision for the next five years for the Fonds FTQ and aims in particular to have assets of $12 billion in sustainable development.
“It is absolutely necessary to review the economic model, it is absolutely necessary to make an environmental transition that is fair”, underlined the leader.
The organization is also completely out of fossil fuels or in the process of doing so, even if several companies in this sector are generating a lot of returns.
“Sometimes you’re going to leave a return on the table, but as long as you’re delivering a return that’s reasonable, and you’re doing something good for society, I think that’s okay,” he said. – she defended.
Convince 100,000 people
Even if the organization does not accept many new contributors each year, the Fonds FTQ wants to convince 100,000 new people who do not have a pension plan to commit to a process over the next five years.
“I refuse that people work so hard to reach their old age with so little. So, we have to promote retirement savings, ”she says, without however detailing her game plan.
