Prime Minister Carney launches new Major Projects Office to fast-track nation-building projects
The Voice of Canada:
In a rapidly shifting global landscape, we need to act decisively to build a stronger, more competitive, and prosperous economy. To those ends, the government tabled the Building Canada Act, which Parliament passed this June. This legislation enables the government to streamline federal approval processes to get major projects built faster. These projects – such as ports, railways, energy corridors, and clean energy – will better connect our economy, diversify our industries, access new markets, and create high-paying careers.
Prime Minister, Mark Carney, launched the new Major Projects Office (MPO). The MPO is headquartered in Calgary and will have offices in other major Canadian cities. Its mandate is to serve as a single point of contact to get nation-building projects built faster. It will do so in two principal ways. First, by streamlining and accelerating regulatory approval processes. Second, by helping to structure and co-ordinate financing of these projects as needed.
The MPO will help to identify projects that are in Canada’s national interest and fast-track their development. The MPO will accelerate projects by creating a single set of conditions, thereby reducing the approval timeline for projects of national interest to a maximum of two years. To that end, it will work with provinces and territories to achieve a “one project, one review” approach for environmental assessments.
The MPO will work to attract domestic and global capital to these projects. It will help structure and co-ordinate financing from the private sector, provincial and territorial partners, and government initiatives, including the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the Canada Growth Fund, and the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program. In doing so, the MPO will deliver value for money for taxpayers, new jobs, and faster growth for Canadians.
The Prime Minister is pleased to announce the appointment of Dawn Farrell to spearhead this mission as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Major Projects Office. Ms. Farrell brings four decades of experience in Canada’s energy sector, including as President, CEO, and Board Chair of Trans Mountain Corporation, President and CEO of TransAlta Corporation, and as a senior executive at BC Hydro. Her executive experience, expertise in implementing large projects, and understanding of regulatory processes and industry relations will be invaluable to the effectiveness of the MPO.
The Major Projects Office will benefit from the expert advice of an Indigenous Advisory Council. It will include representatives from First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Modern Treaty partners. Over the summer, the Prime Minister convened meetings with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis rights holders to engage Indigenous leadership on their priorities and the opportunities for equity ownership and resource management of major projects. Partnership and consultation with Indigenous Peoples is central to the work of the Major Projects Office and the government’s broader mission to build major infrastructure faster.
The government will announce the first set of nation-building projects in the coming weeks.
“Canada has always been a nation of builders, from the St. Lawrence Seaway to Expo 67. At this hinge moment in our history, Canada must draw on this legacy and act decisively to transform our economy from reliance to resilience. We are moving at a speed not seen in generations to build ports, railways, energy grids – the major projects that will unlock Canada’s full economic potential and build Canada strong. I am thrilled that Dawn Farrell, one of Canada’s most experienced executives, is stepping up to help lead this vital priority.”-The Rt. Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada
