On Friday the Government of Canada launched the Major Projects Office (“MPO”) with a mandate to serve as a single point of contact to get “projects of national interest” built faster. Additional detail is set out below.
The MPO, established under the Building Canada Act that was passed in June, is being touted by the Government as a game-changer in accelerating the pace of approvals for nation building projects, and a critical element to Prime Minister Carney’s promise during the election campaign to enhance Canada’s economic resiliency.
Friday’s announcement set out the process to be designated as a project of national interest, and therefore eligible for fast tracked approvals (see below for more detail), details on how exactly to get on the initial List are scant. And some key questions still remain, including: Do you want to be on the List? Fast tracking and the possibility of federal funding are clear benefits of being on the List, but what of the concurrent responsibilities? The government has indicated that fast track approvals may still be available for projects that are not on the List but can be shown to be in the national interest.
Background
The Building Canada Act, passed in June, enables the government to streamline federal approval processes to get major projects of national interest built faster – including ports, railways, energy corridors, critical mineral developments, and clean energy initiatives.
The Act established the MPO to serve as a single point of contact to get these projects of national interest built faster by:
- streamlining and accelerating regulatory approval processes; and
- helping to structure and co-ordinate financing of these projects, as needed, from the private sector, provincial and territorial partners, and government initiatives
The MPO is headquartered in Calgary (and will have offices in other major Canadian cities) and will be led by its CEO is Dawn Farrell, who brings extensive experience in implementing major infrastructure projects including in her former roles as President and CEO of Trans Mountain Corporation and of TransAlta Corporation. The MPO will be supported by the advice of a new Indigenous Advisory Council, the membership of which will be confirmed next month.
Proposed projects of national interest will be evaluated based on the extent to which they can:
- Strengthen Canada’s autonomy, resilience and security
- Provide economic or other benefits to Canada
- Have a high likelihood of successful execution
- Advance the interests of Indigenous Peoples
- Contribute to clean growth and to Canada’s objectives with respect to climate change
Projects of National Interest – The Process
The MPO Website sets out the process for a project to be deemed in the national interest, and added to Schedule 1 of the Building Canada Act – the “List” – to receive upfront conditional federal approvals.
Key steps in the process are:
- Project Submission: to the MPO by project proponent. (The Project Intake Form can be found here.)
- Initial review: The MPO conducts an initial assessment of projects’ contribution to national interest factors (set out above) and identifies which federal approvals are required.
- Proponent and partner engagement and consultations: The MPO engages with project proponent, Indigenous Peoples and other partners to gather relevant project information and helps coordinate consultations with potentially impacted Indigenous Peoples, provinces/territories, and federal ministers.
- Minister’s recommendation: The responsible Minister recommends to Cabinet that the project be added to the “List”.
- Decision: Following a30-day notice period, the project and a description are added to the List. The project details are posted in an online registry.
- Upfront regulatory greenlight: Once the project has been added to the List, it receives upfront conditional federal approvals. Conditions related to federal approvals are consolidated in a single “conditions document,” allowing the project to proceed within two years. Consultation with Indigenous Peoples is ongoing throughout this phase.
Additional details can be found on the MPO Website.