Liberals to announce “second wave” of major projects in November
The Liberals said they will be announcing the “first wave” of their major projects on Thursday, but Canadians will have to wait until late into the fall before hearing what the “second wave” will be.
The Liberals said they will be announcing the “first wave” of their major projects on Thursday, but Canadians will have to wait until late into the fall before hearing what the “second wave” will be.
Prime Minister Mark Carney made a guest appearance on the podcast Real Talk with Ryan Jespersen on Wednesday to discuss a variety of issues that his government intends to tackle as Parliament resumes later this month.
The Liberals opened a Major Projects Office in Calgary earlier this month with a mandate to “advance projects of national interest through the Building Canada Act.” The office will be run by former TransMountain CEO Dawn Farrell.
Jespersen asked Carney about the office and the half a trillion dollars the government has pledged to put behind it, along with what he planned to do to “fix the regulatory maze” that Ottawa has created.
The prime minister said that it’s important to change the attitude in Ottawa from asking “why” to “how” regarding regulations and greenlighting projects.
“We will announce the first wave of those projects tomorrow in Edmonton,” said Carney. “I emphasize on first wave because we will announce the next wave by Grey Cup.”
The Grey Cup is the Canadian Football League championship game, which will take place on November 16 this year.
The Building Canada Act was part of the Liberals’ Bill C-5, which gave the federal government sweeping powers to expedite natural resource and infrastructure projects deemed in the national interest.
Provinces have submitted projects they want greenlit under the legislation but none have been made public yet.
However, multiple sources have told reporters that there is no mention of any oil pipelines on the list so far.
"There is no [oil] pipeline project on the table," one source told Radio-Canada on Wednesday.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has repeatedly called for an oil pipeline to connect the oilsands to northern British Columbia for exportation to foreign markets. Smith said she’s been in “active discussions” with Carney on the matter.
“I don't think that the list as it appears is the final list. We have been assured that there are pathways to get projects on the list as they become ready to be on the list,” said Smith in Calgary on Wednesday.
She went on to say that a lot of regulations would still need to be cut before private sector investments would become appealing to oil companies.
Carney has said that he was open to the notion of approving oil pipelines but has yet to make any formal commitments to one.
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