Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc suggests more projects could soon be designated as being in the national interest under the Building Canada Act (BCA).

At a legislative committee studying Bill C-39, which would broaden and make permanent the BCA’s powers, Conservatives asked LeBlanc why the changes are needed, given that only one project, the Pacific Link pipeline, has been designated under the law so far. 

“I understand [the Conservatives] share our enthusiasm for designation, the listing of projects of national interest,” he said. “Good news is coming again soon.” 

“In other projects across the country, [Transport Minister Steven] MacKinnon and I will have more to say about some of those projects referred to the Major Projects Office.”

So far 15 projects have been referred to the Major Projects Office, but only five have received a notice of designation in the Gazette, the necessary step Ottawa must take before an official national interest designation can be issued. 

Besides the Pacific Link pipeline, those are the Mackenzie Valley Highway in the Northwest Territories, the Grays Bay Road and Port in Nunavut, the deep geological repository for nuclear waste in Ontario, and Roberts Bank Terminal 2 in British Columbia. 

That port expansion could serve Alberta and Ottawa’s proposed Pacific Link oil pipeline.

Projects with that status receive upfront conditional federal approvals. A conditions document, to be issued by the minister, replaces the permits they would otherwise need, and it gives the federal government power to bypass existing laws and regulations. 

Minister MacKinnon’s involvement in the process suggests the next projects to obtain national interest status are likely to be the highway or the ports.