Next round of major projects getting government fast-track coming Thursday: Carney

The Front Bench share their reaction to Mark Carney’s announcement of the first five major projects to be considered for fast-track approval.

The second round of major so-called nation-building projects will be announced this Thursday in Prince Rupert, B.C., Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday.

Carney confirmed the date during a press conference in Fredericton, following a meeting with New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt.

“We’ve got big strategies that then also have implications for provinces across the country,” Carney said, when asked about concerns by some provincial officials that no New Brunswick projects were included in the first tranche of projects, before confirming the major-projects announcement timeline.

He also said New Brunswick is “very much a part of this,” but didn’t specify whether that means the province will have a project included on Thursday’s list.

“We’ve had a number of conversations with the province,” Carney said. “I’ve had a number of conversations with the premier about major projects here that meet the criteria.”

The Major Projects Office (MPO) — which is being led by former CEO and chair of the board of directors of the Trans Mountain Corporation Dawn Farrell — was launched in August to streamline and fast-track regulatory approval for the recommended projects, and help further develop the projects under consideration.

The MPO was established under Bill C-5 — dubbed the Building Canada Act by the Liberals — which aims to give government sweeping new powers to approve major projects of national interest. Bill C-5 passed Parliament in June.

The first round of projects was announced in mid-September and includes a liquefied natural gas (LNG) expansion project, a nuclear project, a terminal container project, a copper mine in Saskatchewan and a mine expansion in British Columbia.

Speaking to reporters Monday afternoon, Holt described her meeting with Carney as “productive.”

“I don’t want to scoop the announcement that’s going to come, but we we’ve been working hard on a number of projects, and the announcement won’t be the interties,” Holt said, when asked whether the New Brunswick project included on Thursday’s list will simply be the expansion or interconnection — also known as interties — of the already approved Wind West Atlantic Energy project.

“It will be one of the other projects that we’ve been pushing for,” Holt said.

In a meeting with federal officials in Ottawa in September, Holt — along with five of her provincial cabinet ministers — discussed projects of national interest, including the Quebec-New Brunswick pipeline, the Sisson mine, and expansions at the ports of Saint John and Belledune, among others.

Carney said Monday that the major-projects list is a “living list,” rather than a “one-and-done.”

Carney’s highly anticipated first budget as prime minister, tabled last week, outlined the federal government’s plans to accelerate new nation-building projects, but did not include any new specific project funding beyond what is being set aside for the MPO and accompanying Indigenous consultation efforts.

There was no pipeline as part of the first phase as no private company had yet come forward to develop one.

Since then, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said her province will lead an effort to build one, with the province committing $14 million to be the proponent of, and to fund, the initial planning stages for a proposed bitumen pipeline to British Columbia’s northwest coast.

Smith has also previously said she hopes her proposal will make the federal government’s next phase of major projects.

In a statement to CTV News on Monday, Smith’s office acknowledged that the province and the federal government are working on a memorandum of understanding that “includes the removal, carve out or overhaul of the bad laws chasing away private investment,” referring to policies like the tanker ban and emissions cap.

The statement also confirms both sides are working on “an agreement to work towards ultimate approval of the Alberta to B.C. bitumen pipeline as well as the Pathways project.”

Canadian Chamber of Commerce executive vice-president and chief of public policy Matthew Holmes told CTV News in an interview Monday that while the launch of the MPO is a good thing, the need for it speaks to a larger regulatory issue in Canada.

“The fact that we need a special concierge just to help companies or countries or investor groups find the pathway to get to conclusion, or substantial investment and conclusion, that itself is a sign that things aren’t working well here,” Holmes said. “And we need to look at the deeper issue around, how do we get things built, how do we get projects moving in this country again?”

With files from CTV News’ Stephanie Ha, Rachel Aiello and Mike Le Couteur