Hello, iPolitics readers.
Welcome to Economic Insights, your twice-weekly deep dive into the major projects and policy shifts shaping the Canadian economy.
Stories we are following:
– Ottawa pours $100M in Nova Scotia’s Wind West offshore power project.
The federal government is putting $100 million into research to help Wind West win over investors as developers prepare to bid for offshore licences.
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Minister Sean Fraser were in Halifax alongside Premier Tim Houston for the announcement early Thursday morning.
Part of the money is earmarked for floating buoys that can measure wind speeds and ocean conditions.
Of that $100 million, $3 million will expand existing transmission modelling to cover infrastructure that could reach Quebec, Ontario and beyond. Marine survey work is also planned, since the route to those provinces would run underwater.
Houston says the federal funding’s contribution “will shave years off the project, bring us closer to jobs, and closer to [making] it a reality.”
Natural Resources Canada previously funded a $5-million feasibility study for Wind West. It found Atlantic Canada’s offshore winds hold hundreds of gigawatts in untapped potential, but the region will need to secure demand from key markets to achieve it.
– Major projects CEO faces B.C. First Nations frustrated over lack of consultation.
Major Projects CEO Dawn Farrell told First Nations in B.C. on Wednesday that the frustrations expressed over a lack of consultation on the Pacific Link pipeline made her feel like Canada is “never going to work,” but her office is determined to try to be better.
Farrell was addressing the B.C. Assembly of First Nations at its annual general meeting in Vancouver. Media were asked to leave the room before Farrell’s appearance, but the meeting continued to be publicly streamed on the B.C. Assembly of First Nations YouTube channel.
“I hear your pleas and I hear your discussions and I hear, you know, sort of a disbelief that it’s ever going to change, and a cynicism. And I feel like, ‘Oh my God, we can never get this country to work. Like it’s never going to work. We’ll never make it,’” Farrell said.
She added that staff in her office have “very, very big scars” from working on projects like the Trans Mountain pipeline that didn’t have the depth of Indigenous consultation the Pacific Link pipeline “has after two months.”
“Because we’re all committed in our office to try to do it better. Now, what does doing it better look like? It’s really hard to sit here and actually lay out what a day looks like and what the work looks like, and really, you’re not going to believe us at all,” Farrell said.
By the numbers:
13: The number of days before Fisheries and Oceans Canada reaches the target completion date for the sole remaining permit for Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project, which could eventually be an exit point for the oil coming out of a Pacific Link Pipeline. Environmental groups allege the project won’t obtain the permit, hence the need for a national interest designation under the Building Canada Act.
3: The number of Innu First Nations that openly criticized the developers of Marinvest Energy’s proposed natural pipeline on Thursday.
77: The number of days before China’s 25 per cent tariff suspension on Canadian lobster and crab expires.
Major projects watch:
– Fisheries and Oceans Canada is imposing a new fish protection standard on dams and hydroelectric plants starting Thursday, which the industry considers “unrealistic,” with “considerable” consequences across the country. According to Radio-Canada, this regulation could cost Hydro-Québec a great deal. “It’s far too restrictive. We’re not able to comply,” says a source at Hydro-Québec, who is not speaking on behalf of the state-owned corporation.
– A proposed LNG power generation facility in Fort Simpson is receiving an influx of federal dollars as part of a plan to replace the town’s ageing diesel plant. The federal government announced on Wednesday $31.3 million through its Arctic Energy Fund for a new liquefied natural gas power plant. The NWT Power Corporation is contributing $10.4 million. Cabin Radio has the details.
– CNSC and CER no longer have to submit annual reports, as required under the Nuclear Safety Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, according to a Gazette Notice. The goal? “Reduce red tape” as those reports contain the same information as what is in the Public Accounts or estimates of expenditures submitted to Parliament.
– The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs intends to file a submission with the Bill C-39 committee, reflecting the leaders’ belief that the bill does not meet standards on the duty to consult.
– Heads up: the Federal Court of Appeal will be releasing its decision tomorrow morning on the landmark federal UNDRIP case involving the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and Kebaowek First Nation.
Headlines:
- Several Alberta Métis nations claim they were excluded from pipeline talks (Calgary Herald)
- Government planning ‘hyperscale’ $1.5B data centre for National Capital Region (Ottawa Citizen)
- This Alberta referendum question could stall the West Coast pipeline, says law professor (Financial Post)
- Business leaders support tax reform ahead of 2026 budget: KPMG survey (Globe and Mail)
- Ten data centre proposals currently before NB Power (The Daily Gleaner)
- Newfoundland and Labrador expecting windfall from soaring oil prices (CP)
- Explosives: the overlooked risk that could halt mines (Mining.com)
- Squamish homeowners say LNG power line will completely change their neighbourhood (CBC)
- Stranded Middle East LNG Supply Upends Gas Markets (Oil Price)