The Arctic Security Corridor from Yellowknife to the coast needs “further development” but is on a list of secondary targets for Mark Carney’s Major Projects Office.
The office, announced last month, is tasked with fast-tracking the big nation-building projects placed by the prime minister at the centre of his economic plan for Canada.
There is no place on the initial list of 11 high-priority projects for the NWT’s Mackenzie Valley Highway, nor for the Taltson hydro expansion.
Designed to run from Yellowknife to Nunavut’s planned Grays Bay deepwater port, the Arctic Security Corridor doesn’t make the top tier of five projects to be advanced first by the Major Projects Office.
It does, however, qualify in a second tier of six projects that the federal government believes “could be truly transformative for this country” but are “at an earlier stage and require further development.”
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
In a news release, Carney’s office called the Arctic Security Corridor “an all-weather, dual-use, land and port-to-port-to-port infrastructure project that will contribute to Canada’s defence and northern development.”
“The project will support northern critical mineral projects, create new opportunities for sustainable development, and connect communities to the rest of Canada, while increasing capability for the Canadian Armed Forces in the North,” the news release stated.
The five projects being immediately referred to the Major Projects Office are:
- an LNG expansion in British Columbia;
- a small modular nuclear reactor in Bowmanville, Ontario;
- an expansion of the Port of Montreal’s capacity;
- a Saskatchewan copper and zinc mine; and
- an expansion of northwest BC’s Red Chris copper mine.
The Arctic Security Corridor was previously known as the Slave Geological Province Corridor.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
In Carney’s news release it is renamed again, to the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor, an apparent effort to tie it into the prime minister’s overarching vision.
In a statement, NWT MP and Crown-Indigenous relations minister Rebecca Alty said Ottawa “will now begin critical discussions about how [the five top-tier projects] can be built in partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.”
“Major projects must and will deliver lasting benefits for Indigenous Peoples – not just in words, but in jobs, ownership, and opportunities,” Alty was quoted as saying.
An Indigenous Advisory Council has been established to offer “leadership and guidance” to the Major Projects Office. The office is being run by Dawn Farrell, former boss of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline firm.
The advisory council contains no NWT representation among its 11 members but does include voices based in the Yukon, Nunavut and Nunavik.
NWT ministers respond
“Today’s announcement marks the true start of a new federal approach to advancing projects of national interest,” NWT Premier RJ Simpson told Cabin Radio in a statement.
“While no Northwest Territories projects were included in this initial tranche, the signals that northern corridors and all-weather road infrastructure will feature in future rounds are welcomed.”
Simpson said he was encouraged by the mention of the Arctic Security Corridor, even as the Mackenzie Valley Highway and Taltson hydro expansion were left out.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“Our vision remains unchanged. The Mackenzie Valley Highway, the Taltson hydro expansion and the Arctic Security Corridor are essential to Canada’s future,” he wrote.
“We will continue to advance these initiatives in partnership with Indigenous governments and communities, and we will continue to make the case for their recognition as projects of national interest.
“The unprecedented attention now being directed to the North is welcome, and we hope it leads to unprecedented investment – not only in our government’s priorities, but also in the more regionally focused but equally important projects being advanced by Indigenous governments.”
“We look forward to working closely with the new Major Projects Office to ensure these opportunities are realized,” territorial major infrastructure minister Caroline Wawzonek added.
“That is how we will truly unlock nation-building opportunities for the benefit of the entire country. The Northwest Territories cannot be left behind – and our government will continue to do the work needed to move these projects forward.”
