Expert group says the next six months are 'crucial' for major projects bill success

National Observer

6 days ago

Prime Minister Mark Carney 's government should prioritize Indigenous engagement and declare "low-risk, high-impact" projects as being in the national interest within the next six months to validate the major projects bill, an Ottawa-based group of experts says in a new paper.
The Expert Group on Canada-US Relations at Carleton University released a white paper on the future of Canada's energy sector Monday morning, before Carney was set to meet with Canada's premiers in Huntsville, Ont.
Carney asked to join the premiers during their annual summer premiers gathering after President Donald Trump threatened Canada with 35 per cent tariffs starting Aug. 1.
The Building Canada Act, also known as Bill C-5, is a central piece of the Carney government's response to Trump's tariffs. The legislation gives the government the power to fast track projects like mines and pipelines deemed to be in the national interest, as the Liberal government seeks to shore up Canada's economy and rely less on trade with the United States.
The expert group, co-chaired by former Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Perrin Beatty and Carleton University international affairs professor Fen Hampson, wrote that the next six months are critical for the signature piece of legislation to be seen as a success.
Beatty said Trump's tariffs have created a "remarkable consensus" to change the way Canada conducts business.
"For too long, we've been a nation of builders that can't get anything built, to the point where you get decision by delay, where projects get abandoned or not even proposed because of regulatory paralysis," Beatty said in an emailed response.
"The prime minister has promised major improvements to the system, but to sustain and build the momentum, we have to show Canadians that the reforms are working."
The white paper says the Carney government should designate national interest projects "immediately." That list should include liquefied natural gas, oil, nuclear, hydrogen and renewable energy infrastructure.
The authors suggest deeming two LNG projects in northwestern BC, LNG Canada 2 and Ksi Lisims LNG, as being in the national interest because both have already cleared several regulatory hurdles. The Ksi Lisims LNG project is also a marine project, which puts it into federal jurisdiction.
"These projects are more manageable through federal action, and the potential rewards for Canada — 50,000 jobs and $11 billion per year added to the GDP — are major," Beatty said.
In order to deepen Indigenous engagement, the expert group says the government should formalize a co-developed benefit-sharing and equity process for land rights holders.
Carney held his first of three meetings with Indigenous leaders on Thursday in Gatineau, QC, meeting with hundreds of chiefs.
Some of the chiefs said they left the meeting feeling "cautiously optimistic," but others left early feeling that concerns they'd raised for weeks weren't being listened to.
Still, Beatty called the meeting an "important first step."
"The onus is on governments and business alike to demonstrate their good-faith commitment to the process and to communicate the tremendous opportunities these projects present for Indigenous communities," Beatty said.
Winning the trust and confidence of Indigenous communities won't happen overnight, but the prime minister has demonstrated a commitment to making it happen, he said.
Carney will co-host the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee with Natan Obed, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president, in Inuvik, N. W. T., on Thursday to continue discussions about the legislation.