During a press conference on the grounds of BC Hydro’s Skeena Substation near Terrace today, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the latest round of projects being referred to the Major Projects Office, noting that they were chosen based on their ability to help Canada realize its potential as an energy superpower.
“Each of the projects that we’re referring to the Major Projects Office today, in and of itself is transformational, but the bigger point is that their impacts will be amplified by being part of bigger national strategies to boost Canada’s competitiveness. Including to realize our country’s full potential as an energy superpower.’ – Prime Minister Mark Carney
First and foremost, Prime Minister Carney confirmed that the Ksi Lisims LNG Project will be referred to the MPO. Hand-in-hand with that referral, a commitment to support the related infrastructure projects the facility will rely on, namely, the North Coast Transmission Line (also referred to the MPO separately), and the controversial Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline.
But, the Prime Minister cautioned that a referral is not an automatic approval, and he says the Federal Government is still willing to consult and negotiate with opponents of the projects, including when it comes to ownership.
‘Referring to the MPO, the Major Projects office, is not… does not mean the project is approved, it means that all the efforts are being put in place by the federal government in order to create the conditions so it could move forward. But those decisions are taken by many parties, including very much, First Nations.’ – Prime Minister Mark Carney
Members the Gitanyow, Gitxsan, and Wet’suwet’en Nations who were opposed to the move, as well as representatives of the Kispiox Valley Community Association had gathered at the gates of the Skeena Substation in protest, displaying a banner that read ‘No American Pipeline’ – a reference to Texas based Western LNG’s co-ownership of the PRGT Pipeline that will serve Ksi Lisims LNG.
Another major project in Northwestern BC to be referred to the MPO, the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor, a proposed conservation area about the size of Greece that overlaps one of the largest deposits of critical minerals in the world, minerals that Prime Minister Mark Carney noted would see a global boom in demand in the coming decades.
The Conservation corridor would entail serious investment into local highways and cell towers within it, and would serve as the route of the North Coast Transmission Line as it heads North, one day to be connected to the Yukon’s electrical grid. It would also serve as the backbone for heavy investment in future critical mineral projects in the region, like Canada Nickle’s Crawford Project, Nouveau Monde Graphite’s Matawinie Mine, and Northcliff Resources’ Sisson Mine, which had each been referred to the MPO as well.
Keeping true to the theme of becoming an ‘energy superpower’, the Iqaluit Nukkiksautiit Hydro Project in Nunavut was also announced as a project to be referred to the Major Projects Office.
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