Ottawa and Alberta – PM Carney’s dubious plan for major project development
(Part Two)
The health of the relationship between Ottawa and the province of Alberta is central to the country’s economic growth and Canadians’ future prosperity. Central Canadians should understand how the federal government’s response to Albertans’ aspirations will have ramifications for the country as a whole. It is not hyperbole to state that to devalue or dismiss Albertans’ vision and drive is to endanger the unity of the nation. This is part two of the “Ottawa and Alberta” series; part one can be read here: “Framing the “energy superpower” discussion.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney took the opportunity at the first ministers’ meeting in Saskatoon in early June to explain to premiers how the federal government will fast-track the assessment of major infrastructure projects -- from oil and gas to renewables, electricity providers to critical minerals, ports to pipelines. The PM stated that the next few months will be critical to his government’s mission of advancing nation-building projects. Carney explained that major infrastructure projects will need to meet federal criteria before they are considered to be in the “national interest”, which include strengthening the economy, increasing Canada’s GDP, contributing to job creation and clean growth, creating autonomy and resilience, and having Indigenous participation. The projects must also have a high likelihood of execution as judged by federal officials. Carney promised that accepted projects will be guaranteed a two-year approval process.
PM Carney signaled to premiers that the federal government would immediately introduce legislation to establish a new “major project office” that would be responsible for expediting a list of projects deemed as nation-building initiatives. He expects to draw up the list of projects with the input of the premiers as early as the summer. The PM stated that he expects the list to be refined as private investors come forward with plans.
Within days of the wrap up of the Saskatoon meeting, the Carney Liberals tabled in the House of Commons Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, that introduced measures to remove federal barriers to internal trade, relax rules for skilled workers to work across the country -- and define and fast-track certain nation-building infrastructure projects. On the last point, the legislation establishes the criteria to declare a major project in Canada’s “national interest.” The legislation also sets up the major project office to provide a “significantly improved, streamlined project assessment process.” (This office represents the perfect Liberal solution to an Ottawa problem: let’s create a new bureaucracy to cut the inefficiencies found in the existing bureaucracy.)
Having been only tabled on June 6th, the Liberals are seeking to push Bill C-5 through parliament before MPs and Senators recess for the summer. And only this week the debate commenced. Yet, the government gained support of the Conservatives to have the One Canadian Economy Act passed through the House of Commons by Friday in the interests of jump-starting national infrastructure projects, specifically a bitumen pipeline to the west coast.
As with anything, it seems that with this legislation the devil’s in the details. There appears to be components of Bill C-5 that suggest the promised fast-track process is DOA. For example, in an Ottawa media session last week the PM confirmed that the federal cabinet would be the final arbitrators to determine whether projects are selected as “nation-building.” So, in the end, this fast-track process is essentially a political one that will have the Liberals “picking winners.”
In confirming this, Carney made the reassurances that no federal cabinet decision would override either an objection of a premier or a First Nations people. Blacklock’s Reporter exposed what will undoubtedly be the Achilles Heel of this federal process. In an exchange about the extent of the cabinet’s authority, a reporter asked, “Say there’s a pipeline project you believe is in the national interest but there’s a province like Quebec or British Columbia that doesn’t want it; are you going to push it through anyway?” Carney replied, “No, we need to have a consensus.” “From all provinces?” asked a reporter. “All provinces and Indigenous peoples,” replied Carney.
This process was similarly detailed by federal energy minister Tim Hodgson in a CBC News interview with Rosemary Barton. The minister’s interview profiled the legislation as enabling the public and private sectors to “build faster, break down barriers, and lay the foundation for a stronger, more unified Canada for generations to come.” When asked what key criteria would guarantee success for a project to be considered as “nation-building” by the cabinet, Hodgson stated, “Indigenous ownership as a standard, and they will need to honour our obligations to climate change.” (Here is the nod to senior cabinet minister and environmental zealot Steven Guilbeault – and to PM Carney’s global environmental beliefs. One does not have to speculate what will be said when selecting major projects behind the closed doors of the cabinet room.)
So, investors and companies looking at projects in Canada can expect that layered onto Trudeau-era laws like the no-new pipeline law C-69, and the west coast tanker ban, is the new criteria for the Carney government: the approval by the federal cabinet, unanimous support of the provinces, meeting the federal green goals and net zero energy transition targets, as well as gaining the support (and inclusion?) of First Nations people – and the additional expenses associated with the increased costs of the industrial carbon tax. With this onerous set of criteria, PM Carney’s plan for Canada’s major project development is dubious at best.
Outside of Ottawa, the PM’s fast-track approval process to expedite energy projects was attracting criticism from many quarters. Quebec Premier Francois Legault was quick to state that authority for resource development projects lies in Quebec City and not Ottawa – there is to be no federal overreach. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak held a media conference to underline that “free, prior and informed consent” must be given by First Nations before any infrastructure projects can proceed. First Nations also threatened “conflict and protracted litigation” and the possible legal action at the United Nations, citing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP Treaty), which declares Indigenous peoples' right to consent to resource development. Even the Liberal-apologist Toronto Star came out this week with negative commentary about Carney’s proposed decision-making process being controlled by cabinet. The paper’s headline reads: “Mark Carney’s Bill C-5 is a naked power grab that tramples our democracy.”
The government ramrodding Bill C-5 through parliament also came under fire by one of its own Liberal MPs, Toronto MP and former housing minister Nathaniel Erskine-Smith. “We should improve the bill and respect democratic participation as we do so. First, we should welcome greater parliamentary and civil society scrutiny. The government’s proposed guillotine motion seeks to limit parliamentary debate at every stage of the bill. More concerning, it will jam all expert and public testimony and all committee scrutiny in less than two days. For what?”
Given the many competing interests, PM Carney’s often repeated phrase regarding the necessity for consensus suggests there will be no fast-tracking of projects. It also suggests the federal government will have a difficult time addressing Alberta’s nine demands set out by Premier Smith prior to the first ministers’ meeting. There appears to be no chance that the Carney Liberals will repeal and replace the handful of laws that are scaring away investment and suppressing development. Consider “the nine terrible laws” Premier Smith references:
There is no consensus (especially with the public statements of B.C. Premier David Eby as well as First Nations) to guarantee the province of Alberta a corridor and port access to tidewater on the Pacific coast.
Carney has indicated he will not repeal the no-new pipelines law C-69.
Carney has also indicated he will not lift the B.C. coast tanker ban (and there is uncertainty whether this will impede, in any way, the proposed plan to export from the port of Prince Rupert).
Carney has indicated he will not eliminate the oil and gas emissions cap, which is viewed by industry as a production cap.
The Liberals have not commented on whether they may entertain revising the federal “Clean Electricity Regulations” for Alberta.
The Liberals have not commented on whether they will end the prohibition on single use plastics.
Carney has intimated he is not going to eliminate the net-zero mandate and associated power regulations -- in fact, early indications are that the Liberals intend on championing this mandate and its global targets.
Carney campaigned on establishing a higher industrial carbon tax on Canadian industries and there is little possibility that the federal government will return oversight of this tax to the provinces as requested.
The Liberals have not commented on whether they may entertain repealing the federal censorship laws on energy companies that publicly report their environmental efforts.
Still, Premier Smith remains positive in the face of the news from Ottawa. The premier has put a team of ministers and senior officials together to work with federal officials on Albertans’ demands. She called on the PM to do likewise, “We’re asking for the federal government to put together an equal table, and then we’ll go through these one at a time. And hopefully in the fall session we’ll be able to make some progress.”
Smith keeps driving towards tangible results – conversing with premiers, meeting with American officials and elected representatives, consulting with industry leaders. She talks of a west coast, one million barrel per day pipeline to the port of Prince Rupert and another energy corridor to Churchill, Manitoba. Smith is forging ahead, encouraged by the commitments she heard in Saskatoon at the first ministers’ meeting. In summing up her thoughts on those meetings in an interview with Candice Malcolm, Smith said, “I am optimistic that we do have a change of direction with this prime minister and I am prepared to work with him.”
Postscript
In the aftermath of the first ministers’ meeting, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith provides a voice of reason answering CTV News Vassy Kapelos's claim that oil production in Canada is just fine. Kapelos points out that production of crude oil and equivalent projects hit a record high in 2024 of 4.3 per cent.
Premier Smith: “We have an aspiration to double our production and we could have already probably been at 6 to 7 to 8 million barrels per day. That is what I am looking at and why should we be holding ourselves back when we know the world wants our products? This is the time for us to build.”
Kapelos responds with the biased Laurentian viewpoint, “I am countering the idea that things are destitute, that nothing is being developed and production is extremely capped. The numbers bear out a different story. They are not perhaps as high as you and other people in the province, and maybe even across the country would want to see. But they are not going down.”
Premier Smith: “Vassy, we have the lowest living standards in the world and we’re falling behind all the OECD countries in productivity growth which is standard of living growth and that is because these are the kinds of projects that consistently fail and do not get built. So, we can’t sugar coat that. That is reality. If we want to be a rich country and want to keep up with our neighbours in growth, we have got to build things. We got to dig things out of the ground. We have got to get products to market. We can’t keep on borrowing and borrowing and borrowing and watching the kind of situation that we have seen over the last ten years develop. That is not what Albertans want. It is not what Canadians want. There needs to be a complete attitude adjustment about all of these projects because we have lost a lot of opportunity across the board, across the country.”
Next article (part three): Premier Smith’s vision and Alberta’s path forward
The article was published this morning in The Niagara Independent. The By George Journal version above includes additional text, quotes, and links to source media materials, as well as the postscript.
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