Welcome to Economic Insights, your twice-weekly deep dive into the major projects and policy shifts shaping the Canadian economy.

Stories we are following:

– Senate to form special committee to study Carney’s major projects, labour bill.

A special senate committee will be formed to study the federal government’s Building Canada Strong Act, the 246-page bill tabled on the first day of the fall sitting. 

On Tuesday, the Senate voted to create a special committee to study the proposed legislation once it clears second reading in the House, which could happen as early as this week. 

The committee will include 15 Senators, including three from the Opposition, six from the Independent Senators, three from the Progressives and three from the Canadian Senators.

The committee will have the power to compel witnesses, publish documents and evidence, and issue reports, including one recommending that the Senate not proceed with the bill, if it comes to that.

Senate pre-studies are rare for non-budget bills. 

We have that story.

– Don’t mistake attendance at a press conference as support for a pipeline, chief says.

The grand chief of Treaty 8 First Nations stood behind Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith last week as they announced the Pacific Link pipeline was the first project deemed to be in the “national interest” under the Building Canada Act.

But Trevor Mercredi said his presence shouldn’t be taken as a vote of confidence.

“I want to be clear that our presence should not be interpreted as support for the project,” Mercredi told The Canadian Press.

“Leadership was there to ensure our nations are not left behind. There are significant concerns that must be addressed, and it does not mean the pipeline is a done deal.” 

Read more here.

By the numbers:

$1.2 billion: How much U.K.-based Ithaca Energy paid for Suncor’s interest in the Terra Nova, White Rose and West White Rose developments off the coast of Newfoundland. 

24 per cent: The number of Canadians who believe the country is currently building too few major projects, according to a recent Abacus Data poll. 

15: The number of Senators who will be part of a special committee formed to study Bill C-39.

Major projects watch:

– Two of Canada’s biggest energy companies have announced portfolio changes at a time when a brightening mood appears to be taking root in Alberta’s oilpatch. Cenovus Energy Inc. is growing its oilsands footprint with a $5.7-billion deal to buy up smaller peer Athabasca Oil Corp., while Suncor Energy Inc. is selling offshore assets in Atlantic Canada as it focuses on its own northern Alberta holdings. CP reports.

– Conservative MPs speaking to the legislation as debate resumed Monday were broadly supportive of getting projects built more quickly but questioned whether Bill C-39 would help Canada do that, with MP David McKenzie saying Liberal promises to approve projects with one assessment within one year are not the same as the government getting out of the way and letting private proponents build. 

– Spotted: Tamara Whitby, energy consultant with Hiawatha First Nation, speaking at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s proceedings to renew the power reactor operating licence for the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station. “Recent discussions surrounding Bill C39 reinforces that concern for us… We should not find ourselves participating at a project level while broader discussions are being made about systems and processes that govern those projects without the same opportunity to influence them.” 

– A new national survey from Abacus Data and Vantage finds Canadians have largely accepted the case for moving faster on major projects but that support comes with conditions that could shape what governments, investors and project proponents can actually do next. Two-thirds of Canadians (67%) say getting major projects built quickly is now a question of Canada’s sovereignty. Yet only 24% believe Canada is currently building too few major projects. More here.

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