Prime Minister Mark Carney used the BC Hydro Skeena Substation near Terrace, B.C., on Nov. 13 as a backdrop to announce six new projects slated for fast-tracking by the new federal Major Project Office.<\/p>\n
Two of those projects, the Ksi Lisims natural gas liquefaction facility, and the BC Hydro North Coast Transmission Line are in northern B.C.<\/p>\n
The North Coast Transmission Line will ultimately feed the Skeena Substation and is expected to provide clean power to major projects such as Cedar LNG and LNG Canada in Kitimat.<\/p>\n
Carney also announced the Canada Infrastructure Bank will loan BC Hydro $140 million to complete the project.<\/p>\n
The Ksi Lisims project is a floating facility north of Prince Rupert, proposed to process natural gas from northeastern B.C. for export to Asia.<\/p>\n
“We used to build in this country, and we are building this nation again,” Carney said.<\/p>\n
The other projects are the Sission Mine (critical minerals) in New Brunswick, the Crawford Nickel project in Ontario, the Iqaluit Nukkiksautiit Hydroelectric project in Nunavut, and the Nouveau Monde Graphite project in Quebec.<\/p>\n
Carney said these projects tie into broader strategies to strengthen Canada, including becoming an “energy superpower” and achieving further independence from an increasingly protectionist United States. Canada’s GDP has fallen by 1 per cent, or $50 billion, as a result of President Donald Trump’s trade war, Carney said.<\/p>\n
“It’s the equivalent of $1,300 for every woman, man and child in this country,” he said. “That’s because the world is changing rapidly, and so we must change our strategy dramatically, and we’re doing that by drawing on our legacy, our legacy as builders.”<\/p>\n
The six new projects are added to the first round of five projects announced in September.<\/p>\n
That list also included two northwest B.C. projects, the LNG Canada Phase 2 expansion in Kitimat, and the Red Chris Copper-Gold Mine expansion.<\/p>\n
The federal government created the MPO in August to fast-track ‘nation-building’ projects in critical minerals, energy, and infrastructure deemed to be in the ‘national interest.’<\/p>\n
The office seeks to streamline approvals for major projects by coordinating federal and intergovernmental reviews, and by coordinating financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Canada Growth Fund.<\/p>\n
The federal government has promised it will do this while still balancing environmental and First Nations concerns.<\/p>\n
The 2025 federal budget allocates just over $200 million for MPO operations and an additional $10 million for First Nations consultation.<\/p>\n
In his address to the media gathered at the substation, Carney said these projects contribute to the interests of First Nations and sustainability goals.<\/p>\n
“Today is not just about what we build, it’s also about how we build,” he said. “We’re building sustainably, in each case, reducing emissions and investing in a clean-energy future. Our energy and critical minerals projects are amongst the lowest carbon in the world.”<\/p>\n
He added that many of the projects include Indigenous co-ownership.<\/p>\n
“The federal government is putting on the table huge financing for Indigenous equity ownership. So we’re moving to a different nature of these projects,” he said. “We work in concert with all parties, and we make things possible. We don’t dictate where projects are going to go in the end.”<\/p>\n
Some First Nations and environmental leaders are skeptical, however.<\/p>\n
Outside of the Skeena Substation, a group of representatives from the Gitxsan, Gitanyow, and Wet’suwet’en Nations, and the Kispiox Valley Community Association, bearing a banner reading “No American Pipeline!” responded to the prime minister’s announcement.<\/p>\n
The group opposes the fast-tracking of large industrial projects in northwest B.C. and have launched a lawsuit against the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT ) pipeline project, which is proposed to feed the Ksi Lisims LNG processing plant.<\/p>\n
“This is all going to be owned by billionaires in the United States,” said Watahayetsxw, a Gitanyow hereditary chief through whose territory some of the proposed PRGT pipeline would run.<\/p>\n
“That’s our territory, they’re going to transact. But [Carney] never mentioned that. He just mentioned he’s going to go bulldoze through the territory like he owns it. Well, you can inform the prime minister he does not own it. We do, and I’ll keep fighting.”<\/p>\n
Watahayetsxw said she was willing to physically resist industrial development on her clan’s territory, including by blockading roads, and she noted that she had not been approached for any consultation on the matter.<\/p>\n
“There is not one level of government, whether it be British Columbia or Canada, that has come to talk to me. I did not give friendship. I did not give consent for them to be here,” she said.<\/p>\n
Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief Na’moks, who resisted the Coastal GasLink pipeline being built on his clan’s territory, travelled from the Smithers area to support Watahayetsxw and the others opposed to PRGT.<\/p>\n
“‘I’m here to support our relatives who are fighting this project, because we already experienced Coastal GasLink, we already experienced TC Energy, we already experienced what the police were doing,” he said, adding that his primary concern is protection of the environment.<\/p>\n
“We, as hereditary people, we have a right to protect that. We have a right to protect the future.”<\/p>\n
“You get elected officials that are going to back up American-owned projects. There’s a definite problem with this country.”<\/p>\n
The Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla First Nations also have an ongoing legal challenge against the Ksi Lisims project itself, claiming it threatens their territorial waters.<\/p>\n
-With files from Jake Wray<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Carney announces six new ‘nation-building’ projects at the BC Hydro Skeena Substation near Terrace <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":159897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n