Prime Minister Stephen Harper toured a gold and copper mine in the Yukon Tuesday, where he extolled the virtues of the resource-rich region and discussed the need for streamlined project approvals.
Harper is in the midst of his seventh annual tour of the region, spending the day at the Minto Mine, located about 240 kilometres north of Whitehorse.
"Our Government is committed to ensuring that Northerners benefit from the tremendous natural resource reserves that are found in their region," Harper said in remarks at the mine.
"For the benefits to flow, it is necessary to get resource projects up and running in an effective and responsible way and to put agreements in place with territorial Governments to ensure that revenues generated by these initiatives stay up North."
The comments follow efforts in the last federal budget to create a so-called ‘one project, one approval’ process for resource development initiatives, which often spend years mired in the approval phase.
They also come as Alberta and B.C. squabble over royalties from the Northern Gateway pipeline project, which, once complete, would deliver crude oil from Alberta to B.C.'s Pacific coast, for delivery to Asian markets.
"The Harper government believes that reviews for major resource projects must be based upon sound science, balanced input and that they must have clearly defined timelines," said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, released Tuesday.
While in Minto, Harper witnessed the signing of amendments to a resource sharing agreement that would ensure a greater portion of revenues generated from mining and resource projects remains in the Yukon.
A similar agreement was recently signed with the government of the Northwest Territories.
"These amendments will provide the Government of Yukon with an immediate improvement in its resource revenue provisions, and the option to adopt arrangements consistent with those agreed to in principle with the Northwest Territories," said the statement.
On Monday night, Harper spoke to supporters in Whitehorse, describing the development of resources in Canada's North as the "great national dream."
"The North's time has come," Harper told a crowd of about 300 Conservative supporters at a rally Monday night.
"I tell people starting to see the activity here, you ain't seen nothing yet in terms of what's coming in the next decade."
Harper has made northern development a priority for his government, expressing a "use it or lose it" philosophy toward the region.
Natural resources development has also become a renewed focus of the government as international markets exhibit an appetite for Canada's resources.
The federal government says there are currently 24 projects in the North representing $38 billion in potential new investment.
Harper maintains those projects and investment dollars could be hampered by onerous approval processes, and said the new regulatory changes his government has ushered in are good for the future.
"Not every one of these measures is easy or is popular with everybody," Harper said in a stump-style speech in a riding captured by the Tories in the 2011 federal election.
"But the reason we do them is they are all in the long-term best interests of this country."
Not everyone agrees, however.
Liberal Aboriginal Affairs Critic Carolyn Bennett said in a statement that local stakeholders are being squeezed out of the discussion.
"Northerners deserve more than an annual photo op from their prime minister and hollow announcements that never materialize," the statement said.
"It is time that the federal government listen to their concerns and serve as a true partner in addressing the serious challenges and opportunities in Canada's North."
