Ottawa to designate first national interest projects in Nunavut, N.W.T., CP sources say

The federal government is expected to announce Wednesday that it will begin the process to designate two key Arctic projects as projects of national interest. Residents walk down the hill to their home in the town of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, on Friday Sept. 1, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

OTTAWA — Ottawa is expected to announce Wednesday that it will begin the process of designating two key Arctic infrastructure projects as being in the national interest, say government sources.

The projects are the first Ottawa has signalled it will elevate to become projects of national interest under the Building Canada Act, which allows the government to fast-track approvals and allow them to skirt some environmental laws.

Three federal and territorial government sources, who were not authorized to speak about the announcement before it’s public, provided details to The Canadian Press.

They said the Grays Bay road and port project in Nunavut and the Mackenzie Valley highway project in the Northwest Territories are to be announced at a news conference in Yellowknife.

The Grays Bay road and port project would see a 230-kilometre all-season road built through the N.W.T. and Nunavut, unlocking mining opportunities for critical minerals in the North.

The Mackenzie Valley highway project would see an all-season road from Yellowknife to Inuvik, cutting down travel times and passing through communities currently accessible only by air, winter roads or barges.

Both projects were referred to the major projects office in March.

So far, none of the 15 projects the federal government sent to the office have been given national interest designation or even begun the process to get it.

To receive the designation, projects need to go through a consultation period with provinces, territories and Indigenous groups.

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty are expected to announce the beginning of that process Wednesday.

Prime Minister Mark Carney rammed the Building Canada Act through Parliament before the House of Commons rose last summer. Since then, the opposition has criticized him for not using the government’s new powers.

The only project Ottawa has signalled an intent to designate is a prospective oil pipeline to the West Coast as part of an energy deal with Alberta.

The federal government committed in a memorandum of understanding in November to designate a pipeline as in the national interest. No such project has been submitted for consideration to the major projects office. The deal set a deadline of July 1 to submit an application.

Energy Minister Tim Hodgson is also set to be at the Yellowknife announcement.

The sources said he’s expected to announce an update on a deep geological repository for Canada’s nuclear waste.

In November 2024, the Township of Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation area in northwestern Ontario were selected as locations for the repository.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press