CTV National News: Nuclear waste facility, major roads among major national-interest projects
Ministers said the Build Canada Act could streamline approvals and cut travel time by 15 hours for the Mackenzie Valley Highway.
- On Wednesday, Transport Minister Steven McKinnon, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty announced three major infrastructure projects are being considered for fast-tracking by the Major Projects Office under the Build Canada Act.
- The Build Canada Act, signed into law last year, allows cabinet to designate projects in the national interest, streamlining regulatory authorizations under a single minister while maintaining requirements for environmental assessments and Indigenous consultations.
- Proposed infrastructure includes the Mackenzie Valley Highway Project, which would cut travel time between Yellowknife and Inuvik by 15 hours, plus the Deep Geological Repository containing nuclear fuel 650 to 800 metres underground and a 230 km Grays Bay all-season road.
- ELFN representatives wrote in January that their request for recognition as a host community for the DGR has been "repeatedly ignored without any justification under law," though the MPO stated it welcomes direct conversations with leadership.
- Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the government on Friday for not using the law's powers sooner, arguing it would be better to "scrap all the anti-development laws" to allow projects to proceed without bureaucratic red tape.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Q&A: Why this expert says 2 Arctic megaprojects are 'lower-hanging fruit'
The federal government "is initiating the process toward potential listing" of the projects as ones of national importance under the Building Canada Act. What does that actually mean? Does it make the projects any closer to getting shovels in the ground?
Ottawa's three major projects will affect Indigenous communities
The federal government says the three major projects announced Wednesday that are being considered for fast-tracking under the Build Canada Act will not affect requirements for Indigenous consultation. At a news conference in Yellowknife, Transport Minister Steven McKinnon, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty announced the three projects listed for consideration. They are the G…
Carney government names first three infrastructure projects as candidates for fast-tracked approvals
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney's government signalled Wednesday that it's working towards designating its first set of major infrastructure projects in the national interest by fall 2026, deploying yet-to-be-used powers to grant upfront approvals.
Two routes in the Arctic and one nuclear waste disposal site in Ontario are the first three projects that the federal government wishes to classify as "national interest".
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