Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister is calling for a wartime effort to build big national infrastructure projects as envisioned by recently passed bill C-5.
In a keynote address to the Toronto Region Board of Trade, Tim Hodgson issued a call to action to business leaders to “bring your best ideas forward” as the country attempts to retool the economy like it did at the end of the Second World War.
Hearkening back to a time when Canada faced “such a transformational upheaval of the world order,” Hodgson reminded the room that eight decades ago, instead of hesitating, Canadians came together to do great things.
“Now, we must stand side-by-side once again, from coast to coast to coast, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, industries, small businesses, and entrepreneurs,” said Hodgson. “We need that same spirit today.”
The “One Canadian Economy Act” passed in the House last week and is awaiting first reading in the Senate. It must pass third reading before getting Royal Assent and then becoming law -- a process that could happen this week as the Upper Chamber is expected to rise for the summer on Thursday or Friday.
Hodgson says the bill will create conditions to get projects off the ground more quickly with the establishment of a major projects office, whose goal is to give proponents one point of contact “to make sure things stay on track,” said the minister.
That office will be a central coordination point with an Indigenous Advisory Council to consult with indigenous, first nations and Metis communities. Coupled with a “rigorous” environmental review, Hodgson says it will inform a “single set of binding federal conditions for the project,” said Hodgson.
The goal is to expedite reviews and focus on how the project will be built as opposed to whether it will be built, Hodgson said.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced he will be holding working sessions and public roundtables in Ottawa with First Nations rights holders on July 17, then with Inuit leadership in late July and Metis leadership at a later date. That came after the Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak raised concerns about the lack of consultation, saying during the legislative process, indigenous rights holders had been “shut out”.
“It’s why we’re starting with the literal launch of the process of this nation-building process is with First Nations, literally in full partnership,” Carney told reporters last Friday.
Hodgson praised Ontario’s nuclear energy program as an example of how “Canada can do great things”, pointing out how 58 per cent of electricity in that province comes from nuclear energy. That technology has been exported around the world to help other countries “achieve energy security and avoid over 30 million tonnes of pollution annually,” according to Hodgson.
Ontario is also working with Alberta and New Brunswick on the development of small modular reactors to advance that form of energy.
“Nuclear power is one of our greatest strategic assets. It is clean. It is reliable. And it is built here, by Canadian workers and engineers, using Canadian uranium and technology,” said Hodgson.
Hodgson also underlined how developing Canada’s critical minerals can help to drive investment while growing exports and raising wages in the country.
“At the G7, all of the countries said they wanted to buy Canadian critical minerals,” said Hodgson. “Right now, at the NATO what the prime minister is hearing is that all of those countries want to buy our critical minerals, this is an opportunity for us.”
The government believes there will be a demand for responsibly sourced minerals that could support new mining projects across the country.
