Liberals table bill to speed up approvals for major 'national interest' projects

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is granting itself new powers to quickly push ahead major projects the federal cabinet deems to be in the national interest.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc tabled legislation in the House of Commons today which would give Ottawa the authority to draw up a list of large projects it wants to prioritize and expedite their federal approval.

Carney says it has become too hard to build new projects in Canada and the legislation will lead Ottawa to take a more proactive approach to pushing such projects forward.

The bill would create a new federal office that would take the lead on streamlining permitting and approvals for major projects.

The legislation comes with a sunset clause that forces a review of the law after five years.

Carney met with the premiers earlier in the week in Saskatoon, where they privately discussed various projects the premiers want to see quickly launched — including pipelines, trade corridors and mining projects.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld