EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on The Trillium, a new Village Media website devoted exclusively to covering provincial politics at Queen’s Park.
Speaking to a parliamentary committee Tuesday, Peter Bethlenfalvy said the province has a more self-sufficient economy that can withstand choppy geopolitical waters. Later, he told The Trillium he was speaking about the same concept that his federal counterpart, Chrystia Freeland, calls "friend-shoring": strengthening trading ties with countries that share Canada's democratic values and becoming less reliant on those that don't.Bethlenfalvy added that he's focused less on friendship with trading partners than reshoring some economic activity to ensure Ontario's independence, he said.
"Seventy-five per cent of the mining of cobalt is in Congo," he said, by way of an example of a mineral used in electric vehicle batteries. "We have a town in Ontario called Cobalt, you know ... It's not about picking on anybody. It's just been more of a self-reliant economy and, of course, working with people that share a number of our democratic values."