Mining and processing critical minerals top Ontario priority ahead of federal budget

Ontario’s finance minister says the province’s top priority ahead of the federal government’s budget is help to mine and process critical minerals as part of its electric vehicle manufacturing push.

Peter Bethlenfalvy says the province wants more help from the federal government to build infrastructure and speed up permitting and approvals to extract minerals needed for electric vehicles.

The federal government’s budget is set to be released on Tuesday.

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The province has embarked on ambitious goal to build an end-to-end electric vehicle industry.

A key component of that is mining some 34 critical minerals used in batteries for the cars.

Bethlenfalvy wants the federal government to match its $1-billion commitment to develop the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario that is said to be rich in critical minerals.