LNG Canada’s expansion of a liquefied natural gas facility in Kitimat, B.C., has been identified as part of the first wave of the federal government’s major projects list.Jesse Winter/Reuters
Expanding LNG Canada’s Kitimat, B.C., liquefied natural gas facility and four other projects are the first wave of major national projects the Liberal government has identified for fast-tracking under Bill C-5, sources say.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to make the announcement Thursday in Edmonton.
Two government officials confirmed the list of five projects to The Globe and Mail. The Globe is not identifying the officials because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the upcoming announcement. The list has also been reported by other news organizations.
The four other projects on the initial list are new small modular reactors at Ontario’s existing Darlington Nuclear Generating Station; an expansion by the Port of Montreal in Contrecoeur, Que.; Saskatchewan’s Foran McIlvenna Bay copper mine project; and the Red Chris Copper and Gold Mine expansion in B.C.
All five projects were part of a draft list of 32 projects obtained by The Globe and Mail.
In public comments Wednesday, Mr. Carney stressed that his Thursday announcement is only a preliminary list and that more projects will be added before the Grey Cup.
The Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup is scheduled for Nov. 16 in Winnipeg.
The initial list of five projects does not include any new oil pipelines. The draft list obtained by The Globe included a pipeline that would bring Alberta oil through northwest British Columbia to the Pacific Coast.
Later Wednesday, Mr. Carney had a scheduled meeting with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who has made clear that she’d like to see a new oil pipeline as an approved project.
Speaking to reporters at an unrelated announcement earlier in the day, Ms. Smith did not appear concerned by reports that there will be no pipeline in the first round.
“Don’t think that the list as it appears is the final list,” she said, adding that the Carney government must also repeal a range of existing laws that hamper the potential for any company to pitch a new pipeline.
The federal government’s Building Canada Act, approved in June as part of Bill C-5, allows cabinet to designate specific projects as being in the national interest, meaning they can then qualify for a faster approval process. Inclusion on the list does not necessarily mean the project would receive public funding from the federal government.
The process will be overseen by a new Calgary-based Major Projects Office, led by veteran energy executive Dawn Farrell.
On Thursday, the government announced the membership of an Indigenous Advisory Council that will provide policy recommendations to the Major Projects Office. The office itself will be responsible for conducting direct consultation with Indigenous rights holders affected by potential projects.