Canada Names Its First Project 'In the National Interest,' Raising Questions About Every Project Before It
Ottawa has officially designated a West Coast oil pipeline as the first project in the national interest. That makes it the first time in the country's history that a project has been formally recognised as something the country actually wants.
This raises an awkward question about the previous 159 years. The St. Lawrence Seaway, the TransCanada Highway and the Confederation Bridge were apparently built on vibes, with Parliament quietly hoping nobody would ask whose interest they served.
According to officials, the designation speeds up approvals. That is a big deal in a country where an environmental assessment can outlast the career of the minister who ordered it, and occasionally the ecosystem being assessed.
The programme has its own process, of course. To be fast-tracked, a project first has to clear a review to decide if it qualifies to skip the reviews. Sources say the review of that review was itself fast-tracked, which helps explain why the first designation arrived in only about a year and a half.
Other infrastructure is said to be taking it personally. A stretch of Highway 17 in northern Ontario, which has been waiting for twinning since roughly the Pearson years, submitted a formal complaint saying it has been in the national interest "emotionally" for decades.
Critics argue the label is mostly symbolic. Supporters say symbols matter in Canada, where a flag took 97 years and a national anthem took a full century to get official.
Asked when the second project might be designated, a spokesperson said the government is "moving with urgency" and has struck a committee to define the word.