xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) & səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories / VANCOUVER

Being an energy superpower in the 21st century means renewable energy not fossil fuel expansion

Following today’s announcement by Prime Minister Mark Carney that the federal government will fast-track six additional “national interest” projects, lawyers at West Coast Environmental Law are expressing disappointment at the government’s continued focus on resource development projects, including fossil fuel production and export. Rather than the truly nation-building projects Canadians need to compete in the emerging sustainable economy, the federal government plans to hit the gas on yet another LNG project – Ksi Lisims – potentially undermining Canada’s climate commitments and locking in decades of climate pollution.

The new projects include:

• The Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas project in British Columbia,
• The North Coast Transmission line in British Columbia,
• The Crawford nickel project in Ontario,
• The Nouveau Monde Graphite Phase 2 project in Quebec,
• The Sisson tungsten mine in New Brunswick, and
• A hydroelectric project in Iqaluit.

These six projects combined with a previous list announced in September, bring the total to eleven projects being advanced through the Major Projects Office. It is unclear whether they will also be fast-tracked under the Building Canada Act (Bill C-5), which gives Cabinet sweeping powers to fast-track projects it deems in the “national interest.” To date, Canada has not demonstrated how these projects meet its own criteria for determining the “national interest." In particular, the Ksi Lisims and LNG Canada projects are fundamentally at odds with Canada’s stated criteria that national interest projects “contribute to clean growth and address climate change.” Environmental and Indigenous groups have pressed the government to clarify its process and ensure no project proceeds without the free, prior and informed consent of all impacted First Nations.

“At a time when global carbon pollution is driving climate disasters around the world, and countries are working to build economies that move beyond oil and gas, it makes no sense for Canada to be fast-tracking another fossil fuel megaproject,” says Andrew Gage, Staff Lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law. “Calling projects like Ksi Lisims and LNG Canada in the ‘national interest’ ignores the harm they are causing to Canadians and the reality that they drive the climate crisis instead of solving it.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson have stated that projects of national interest will be ones that First Nations support and be evaluated for their potential to help Canada meet its climate change targets. Despite these promises, the environmental assessment of Ksi Lisims found that the project will result in significant greenhouse gas emissions, and two First Nations – the Lax Kw’alaams Band and the Metlakatla First Nation – are challenging the project in court. 

“Claiming that these carbon bombs opposed by First Nations are ‘nation building’ is like calling junk food your doctor has told you to avoid ‘medicine,’” says Andrew Gage. “It’s magical thinking.”

Last year was the hottest year ever recorded on earth. The last month alone has seen communities from Alaska to Jamaica to the Philippines utterly devastated by extreme storms fueled by an overheating planet.

“Nation building projects at this time should focus on keeping our communities safe from wildfires, flooding and other climate disasters and building national infrastructure that can help Canada compete in a new, sustainable global economy,” said Gage. “Doubling down on natural gas and fossil fuel expansion makes our communities more vulnerable and undermines our ability to compete in the economy of the future, setting us up for another boom-and-bust cycle instead of real prosperity."

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For more information, please contact:

Andrew Gage | Staff Lawyer
604-601-2506, agage@wcel.org  

Ben Dodd  | Senior Climate Communications Specialist
604 684-7378 Ext 245, bdodd@wcel.org