Saturday, January 17, 2026
ADVT 
National

Poilievre wants 'shovel ready zones' with pre-approved construction permits

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 20 Mar, 2025 10:40 AM
  • Poilievre wants 'shovel ready zones' with pre-approved construction permits

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wants to create what he calls "shovel ready zones" that would have pre-approved permits for major projects resources or energy projects.

In a media statement, Poilievre says that the goal is to permits in place for a mine, liquefied natural gas plant, pipeline or other major project. 

The Conservative plans says they would make sure the pre-permitted area is "safe for Canada and the environment."

Companies would then be able to buy pre-approved land for a project and receive a permit and then complete a "checklist" on how they intend to protect "nature and people."

This is the second day in a row Poilievre has made a pre-campaign pitch focused on speeding up approvals for major projects. 

In Sudbury on Wednesday, he set a deadline to green-light federal Ring of Fire permits within six months — a move that received pushback from some First Nations over concern about ignoring the legal duty to consultation.

MORE National ARTICLES

Suspect arrested in New Westminster stabbing

Suspect arrested in New Westminster stabbing
Police in New Westminster say they've arrested a suspect after a man was stabbed on Sunday. Police say they responded to the scene around 7 a.m. and found a man with a stab wound to his shoulder, who was transported to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

Suspect arrested in New Westminster stabbing

Cutting energy to U.S. in response to Trump tariffs is 'absurd,' says Bloc leader

Cutting energy to U.S. in response to Trump tariffs is 'absurd,' says Bloc leader
Yves-François Blanchet's position runs counter to that of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and most premiers — including Quebec's François Legault — who have said everything is on the table in negotiations with the Trump administration. Blanchet told The Canadian Press in an interview Monday that Canada's best response would be counter-tariffs and it would be "absurd" to cut energy exports.

Cutting energy to U.S. in response to Trump tariffs is 'absurd,' says Bloc leader

Legal arguments to continue next week in five hockey players' sex assault case

Legal arguments to continue next week in five hockey players' sex assault case
More legal arguments are expected next week in the sexual assault case of five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team as they prepare to face trial this spring. Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with sexual assault early last year in an incident that allegedly took place in London, Ont., nearly six years earlier.

Legal arguments to continue next week in five hockey players' sex assault case

Trudeau says 'everything is on the table' for response to Trump tariffs

Trudeau says 'everything is on the table' for response to Trump tariffs
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that if President Donald Trump wants to usher in a "golden age" for the United States, he'll need the energy, critical minerals and resources that Canada is ready to provide. The federal cabinet is meeting in Montebello, Que., for a retreat focused on the Canada-U. S. trade strategy.

Trudeau says 'everything is on the table' for response to Trump tariffs

Parts of tundra releasing more carbon than they absorb: study

Parts of tundra releasing more carbon than they absorb: study
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change, said the change appeared to have taken place in "many tundra regions" and called it a "noteworthy shift in carbon dynamics."

Parts of tundra releasing more carbon than they absorb: study

More than a third of Canadians turn to online info due to lack of doctor access: poll

More than a third of Canadians turn to online info due to lack of doctor access: poll
A new poll suggests more than a third of Canadians say they have no choice but to seek health information online because they don’t have access to a doctor, further highlighting challenges posed by an ongoing physician shortage. 

More than a third of Canadians turn to online info due to lack of doctor access: poll