Oil pipeline missing from Carney’s ‘major projects’ list

While the federal government says it will greenlight major projects like expanding B.C.’s liquefied natural gas production, there’s still no mention of an oil pipeline.

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While the federal government says it will greenlight major projects like expanding B.C.’s liquefied natural gas production, the McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine Project in Saskatchewan, and upgrading the port in Montreal, there’s still no mention of an oil pipeline.

Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled five projects deemed in the national interest, which will now be recommended for review by the newly opened Major Projects Office in Calgary.

Other listed projects include small modular reactors for the Darlington New Nuclear Project in Clarington, Ontario, and the expansion of the Red Chris Mine in northwestern B.C.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded to the announcement during a press conference in Woodbridge, Ontario.

“After six months, Mark Carney has not approved a single national project anywhere in Canada; it’s really incredible. He was elected, saying, ‘that we are in an unprecedented crisis and we have to move with unimaginable speed.’ So what has he done? He has not permitted a single major mine, pipeline, nuclear plant or anything else,” he said.

“What he’s done today is announced that he’s going to send an email to an office that isn’t even fully staffed up yet, which will one day, consider, possibly, approving five projects. This is pathetic.”

Poilievre went on to say that the Carney government is currently blocking 39 projects in the regulatory system.

“The message to Mark Carney and the Liberals is they need to do one thing – get out of the way,” said Poilievre. “Get out of the way. All these projects need to go ahead is the removal of Liberal anti-development laws and taxes that make them impossible to build. We don’t need a new bureaucracy in Ottawa or a new dream list. We need the federal government to get out of the way.”

This announcement marks the initial tranche of major projects, with Carney saying yesterday that he will “announce the next wave by Grey Cup,” marking a deadline of November 16.

Carney said expanding the LNG pipeline to northern B.C. will make Canada an “economic superpower.” He added that the Darlington nuclear reactor project will generate $500 million annually and power 1.2 million homes.

“We are referring the McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine in east-central Saskatchewan and Red Chris copper and gold mine in northwestern B.C.,” said Carney in Edmonton on Thursday.

“Foran will strengthen Canada’s position as a global supplier of critical minerals for clean energy, advanced manufacturing and modern infrastructure. It’ll create 400 jobs, boost the local economies in Saskatchewan and Quebec, where the copper will be smelted and is expected to be the first net-zero copper project in Canada.”

The Red Chris copper mine will also be carbon neutral and increase Canada’s copper output by 15 per cent.

“These five new projects are just the beginning,” Carney added.

The prime minister also announced the government’s plan to “create a new port at Grey’s Bay” in Nunavut to “assert our economic sovereignty while building our defences.”

“Since being elected, we have moved at pace to pass this legislation, to establish the Major Projects Office, to identify the first tranche of projects and these strategies,” said Carney. “We’ve started as we mean to go on and we are just beginning.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said there is room for an oil pipeline to be included, telling reporters that the project list will be “evergreening” and may be updated.

“It’s not, ‘Oh my gosh, this is it, nothing else can be added.’ And so we’ve got a little bit of work to do to be able to get to an environment where oil companies want to expand their production,” said Smith on Wednesday.