Toronto/CMEDIA: An announcement of reportedly the latest slew of “nation-building projects that will connect and transform Canada’s economy” that’ll be sent to the newly created Major Projects Office (MPO) to fast-track infrastructure approvals will be made by Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney in northern BC later today.
Referring to the newly created Major Projects Office, at least six projects will include at least three projects focused on critical mineral extraction, one for exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) and at least one transmission project, as well as the North Coast Transmission Line and the Nouveau Monde Graphite zero-carbon graphite mining project in Quebec.
An initial list of five projects were recommended by Carney in Sep that included expanding liquefied natural gas production in BC, upgrading the Port of Montreal, a small modular reactor project in Ontario and new copper mines in the West.
Following the Liberals’ pledge to speed up approvals for major infrastructure projects deemed to be in the national interest, Carney’s government launched in Aug MPO to oversee that process.
Ahead of more fast-track approvals for major projects, Carney pushes ‘Buy Canadian’ policy.
Released last week, Carney’s budget includes some $214 million over the next five years, about $10 million more for Indigenous consultation work, and to fund the new office’s approvals work.
Concentrating mostly on energy- and resources-related projects , the government’s growth plan aims on expanding Canada’s markets beyond the increasingly protectionist US.
In the federal budget, the Carney government highlighted new support for the development of critical minerals, announcing $2 billion over five years to Natural Resources Canada to create the Critical Mineral Sovereign Fund as a way to help fund investments in the sector.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Wed, National Defence Minister David McGuinty was asked about his department’s involvement in the next wave of projects, with critical minerals being a strategic resource for the defence industry.
“(Canada happens) to be fortunate enough to possess in abundance 10 of the 12 core critical minerals that NATO describes as essential going forward,” McGuinty said. “The Department of Natural Resources is busy now developing a plan to identify, to stockpile, to eventually develop.”
Ontario’s Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce called the Crawford nickel project, located just north of Timmins, Ont., one of the largest nickel deposits in the world “very important” to disrupting what he called China’s monopolization of the sector.
“We have to disrupt (China’s) stranglehold of the supply chain…We’ve got the highest-grade nickel, a business operation that represents 1,000 permit jobs, 3,000 construction jobs, a 40-year operation with billions of dollars of gain to Canada’s economy. So we certainly would hope it will be prioritized on that list,” Lecce said while speaking to reporters in Edwardsburgh Cardinal, Ont. on Wednesday.
On Monday, Carney called the major-projects list a “living list,” rather than a “one-and-done,” and said he would make the announcement in Prince Rupert, B.C.
Reiterating his ongoing criticism towards the Carney government, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on Wednesday that it needs to “get out of the way” to help get projects built.
“Mark Carney has been prime minister for eight months, promising to move at quote ‘unimaginable speeds,’ and yet there’s not a single project that he has launched that was not already in the making or approved before he took office,” Poilievre said in Calgary.
