Critical minerals enable the production of numerous consumer products and have important defence and industrial applications. In addition, they play a major role supporting efforts in Canada’s transition to a low carbon economy. Having and implementing an effective critical minerals strategy, therefore, will be vital for Canada’s future national security. Indeed, our overall economic security requires that we have access to critical minerals and ensure the smooth functioning of our critical minerals supply chains, from mineral exploration to closed loop recycling. For our allies, it is also important that Canada be regarded as a secure and sustainable source of critical minerals. To delve into this important subject, we will be joined by Dr. Jeff Kucharski, from Royal Roads University, who will also discuss what Canada should be doing to ensure the development of critical mineral supply chains within Canada and North America to reduce our dependence on overseas critical minerals vital for our continued way of life.

Our speaker…

Dr. Jeff Kucharski is a strategic thinker, policy entrepreneur and international business facilitator whose career has been strongly focused on initiatives to improve the ability of companies to do business globally. Over the course of his broad and diverse public service career, Kucharski held roles responsible for international business and trade development, policy development, strategic planning, strategic partnership building, national and international government relations, energy regulatory affairs and project management. He led major organizational re-engineering projects, founded new industry/business organizations, negotiated international agreements with key trading partners and facilitated new business relationships for dozens of companies in international markets over the span of his 26 years in government. Kucharski is both a practitioner and an academic who aims to bring lived experience to his research and teaching.