Feds push to have 3 projects in northern Canada declared developments of national interest

Feds push to have 3 projects in northern Canada declared developments of national interest

Projects under consideration are a highway, a deepwater port and nuclear waste storage facility

The Liberal government wants a highway, a deepwater port and nuclear waste storage facility in northern Canada to be listed as projects of national interest.

Ministers in Yellowknife announced Wednesday that the government is "initiating the process toward potential listing" of the Mackenzie Valley Highway Project, the Grays Bay Road and Port Project and a Deep Geological Repository as projects of national interest.

The Mackenzie Valley and Grays Bay projects, which were referred to the Major Projects Office (MPO) in March, could be named to the list of projects of national interest as early as the fall, government officials said Wednesday.

"If listed, federal approvals for nation-building projects like these will secure our long-term energy sovereignty, unlock our abundant natural resources, drive economic growth, advance reconciliation and help maintain our world-class environmental standards,” Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said in a statement.

Officials speaking on background in advance of the announcement said referring these projects to the MPO does not mean they are being rubber stamped, only that they are being considered under the Building Canada Act for speedy approval.

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Bill C-5, Carney's legislation to speed up approvals for major infrastructure projects identified as being "nation-building," passed through Parliament last June.

The second half of the bill, the Building Canada Act, enables the federal cabinet to pick projects, approve them upfront and streamlines the process for navigating federal and provincial laws, environmental reviews and the permitting process.

Being listed as a project of national interest by cabinet is supposed to speed up approval times from five years to two by introducing a "one project, one review" approach instead of having federal and provincial approval processes happen sequentially.

Ottawa pushes to have 3 projects designated in 'the national interest'

The Grays Bay Road and Port would include the construction of a 230-kilometre-long road from the Nunavut border to Grays Bay on the Arctic Ocean where a deepwater port and airstrip would be built.

Officials speaking on background explained that the export terminal and airstrip could have both civilian and military uses, depending on the results of a further assessment by National Defence.

The proponent for the project is the West Kitikmeot Resources Corporation whose major shareholder is the Kitikmeot Inuit Association.

The description of the project on the MPO website says it would "enable new resource exploration and development in the mineral-rich Slave Geological Province of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut."

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said the federal government has already provided more than $21 million to advance the project, which the minister said would provide year-round access to global markets.

The Mackenzie Valley Highway Project is a proposed 800 kilometre all-season gravel road that would connect Wrigley to Inuvik in the N.W.T.

The first phase of construction would connect Wrigley to Tulita and Norman Wells.

The second phase would build the section of the highway that would pass near the communities of Tulita, Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope, which are currently only accessible by aircraft, barge and winter road.

The project would reduce the distance from Yellowknife to Inuvik, by about 1,200 kilometres cutting travel time from 38 hours to roughly 23 hours.

"This project will have a lasting impact on the quality of life of northerners," MacKinnon said.

Located in northwestern Ontario, near Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation, this underground nuclear waste storage facility will consist of a network of underground tunnels and rooms that will be used to store waste from Canada's current roster of nuclear reactors.

The proponent for the project is the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) a not-for-profit established by Canada's nuclear electricity producers in 2002 to safely manage the long-term storage of used nuclear fuel in Canada.

While the highway and deep port were referred to the MPO in March, this project was only forwarded to the office for consideration Wednesday.

In a statement the federal government said the project is part of its nuclear energy strategy and will help unlock clean nuclear energy projects that will boost "investment and create jobs."

National interest listing gives 'greater certainty' to project developers: minister

National projects and the Building Canada Act

Once a project is submitted to the MPO by a government, industry group, company or Indigenous group, it is evaluated against five factors laid out in the Building Canada Act:

Those factors consider whether the project will:

Once it passes these benchmarks, the MPO conducts a further examination of the project before recommending it to the minister responsible and the prime minister who will decide if it will be added to schedule one of the Building Canada Act.

Peter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News who reports for digital, radio and television. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail, and in Canada for the Ottawa Citizen, Torstar and Sun Media. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7/7, published by Vintage.