Ottawa just rolled out part two of its infrastructure Christmas wish list. Whether it’ll get what it asked for is up in the air.
What happened: Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled the latest round of infrastructure projects that his government plans to fast-track under the newly formed Major Projects Office.
- The projects are the Sisson Mine in New Brunswick, an Iqaluit hydro project, the Crawford Nickel Project in Ontario, the Nouveau Monde Graphite Phase 2 project in Québec, and the North Coast Transmission Line and the Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in B.C.
Zoom in: The Ksi Lisims LNG venture, backed by the Nisga’a Nation, is already facing legal challenges by neighbouring Indigenous groups. Last month, the Lax Kw’alaams Band and Metlakatla First Nation each applied to reverse the feds' conditional decision to green-light the new LNG facility.
Why it matters: Ksi Lisims is emblematic of a broader challenge to Carney’s push for nation-building projects: fast-tracking infrastructure plans doesn’t necessarily lend itself well to Indigenous consultations.
- Many Indigenous groups say they already don’t have the resources to respond to the avalanche of proposed infrastructure projects in need of consultations. That bottleneck poses a real problem for the “fast-tracking” of these projects.
Bottom line: Ottawa’s plan to wean Canada’s economy off its U.S. reliance largely depends on getting these mining and energy projects built quickly. The longer they sit in limbo for approval, the harder it will be to tap into other trade markets, like Asia.—LA