The revival of Canada is beginning

The revival of Canada is beginning by Maj (ret’d) CORNELIU, CHISU, CD, PMSC FEC, CET, P.Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East The severe shock received by Canada from its neighbor to the South seems to have energized the sleeping giant of enormous resources to finally wake up. It is now clear that both the federal and provincial governments are looking to take decisive steps to make Canada into a powerful economic entity. It is the right time to do this and has been long overdue. The first major projects of the Canadian government’s signature nation-building initiative are likely to be drawn from several key areas that have emerged as “shared priorities” between Ottawa and the provinces. We can easily see the areas in which significant progress will be made. These include attention to the Western and Arctic Corridor, Critical Minerals development, the Next Stage of Nuclear development, and Export Diversification Infrastructure, to name a few. As Canadian citizens, we may be amazed to see how quickly the Canadian political establishment shook off its long endured coma and started to act in our best interests. It is a pleasure to see the whole country energized and all the stakeholders getting ready to act rapidly to put our country in the right place on the world map. Canada has resources, which can be put to work rapidly and wisely to provide a better life for its citizens. Prime Minister Mark Carney seems to be taking an unprecedented lead setting up summits with stakeholders, to ensure that the federal and provincial governments will continue discussions with proponents on feasibility and specific projects that could be advanced under Bill C-5. The Carney government hopes to supercharge Canada’s economic growth and mitigate damage from tariffs levied by the United States by streamlining federal approvals for major projects deemed to be of national importance under new provisions laid out in Bill C-5, which passed Parliament at the end of June. Provincial and territorial premiers were invited to submit project ideas, though the federal cabinet alone will decide which projects to fast-track. These decisions will be based on factors such as whether the proposal strengthens Canada’s economy or security, the likelihood of it being successful and whether it also advances the interests of Indigenous peoples or contributes to clean and rapid growth. Of particular interest to me, is the attention that is finally being paid to western and arctic corridor development; something I proposed more than ten years ago that fell on deaf ears at the time. One proposal that has gained momentum among the Western premiers is an economic corridor connecting British Columbia’s northwest coast through the Prairies to Hudson’s Bay, eventually linking by road to an Arctic port in Grays Bay, Nunavut. Western premiers in May pledged to begin planning port-to-port-to-port infrastructure, including roads, rail, power generation, transmission and pipelines, which could help deliver more energy, critical minerals, agricultural goods and manufactured goods to tidewater for export to both Asian and European markets. Obviously the most valuable and contentious component of the corridor would be the construction of a new oil export pipeline, (potentially paired with a major carbon-capture project in the oil sands) to the Hudson Bay first and then eventually under Hudson Bay to Nunavut in the Arctic. Besides the oil pipe line the arctic corridor has great potential for simultaneously developing the exploitation of critical minerals and the build-up of infrastructure to support mining, processing and exports, including roads, clean power generation, transmission lines and grid connections. Canada currently ranks “near the bottom” in terms of mine development timelines, Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada director Jeff Killeen said, with it sometimes taking more than 25 years for a viable project to go from initial discovery to production. “Part of that extensive timeline comes from the infrastructure gap that we’re talking about right now in many parts of the country,” he said. The Western and Arctic corridor also overlaps with another key category of major projects, the so-called next stage of nuclear, since boosting Saskatchewan’s uranium ore mining sector could increase exports while simultaneously supporting Ottawa’s ambitions for expanding the next generation of nuclear technologies, regaining the world lead in the field. Ontario is currently constructing the first commercial-scale small modular reactor project among the Group of Seven industrialized nations, and provinces such as Saskatchewan, Alberta and New Brunswick are hoping to follow suit with the help of Ontario Power Generation Inc. In this context it would be advisable to construct small nuclear reactors in the developing regions in need of energy and then connect them to a suitable grid There are also proposals to refurbish Canada’s aging Candu reactor technology that could be fast-tracked under Bill C-5. Of great interest are projects in the field of critical minerals of which the Carney government has said the world is bullish on Canada’s potential to supply critical minerals, so projects that capitalize on this opportunity are likely to draw attention as part of the nation-building initiative. The Ontario government’s proposed multi-billion-dollar investment in the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region looms large on the list. Premier Doug Ford has put developing the vast region at the top of his priority list and is looking to speed assessments of some key components of the project under Bill C-5, including portions of a three-part road network proposed to provide access to the Ring of Fire. Other projects in the pipeline that seem to be high on the consideration list are projects related to export diversification infrastructures. These are in the field of energy and natural resource infrastructure, and transportation projects such as roads and railways. The hope is that these projects will create jobs while helping Canada’s exports reach different trading partners. Canada finally seems to be on the right path to once again becoming a great and respected country on the world scene. Let us keep up the good work.