An Ontario nuclear waste repository is one of three major infrastructure projects Ottawa has identified as the first to be designated under new federal powers meant to speed up project approvals across the country.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization's geological repository, planned for the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and Ignace area in northwestern Ontario, was referred to the federal major projects office this week alongside two Arctic road projects in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Federal ministers made the announcement in Yellowknife on Wednesday. None of the three projects are officially designated yet. They must still go through a consultation process Ottawa hopes to complete by fall.
A 2030 target date was initially floated for when construction on the nuclear waste repository could begin, but federal officials later clarified that date refers to completing a conditions document for the project to proceed. No timeline was provided for when the facility would actually break ground.
What the Building Canada Act allows
Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed C-5 through Parliament in just three weeks in June 2025. The legislation established a major projects office and gave the federal government authority to expedite projects deemed to be in the national interest.
Designating a project under the act allows the federal government to handle all permitting while a project is still under review. It can also allow Ottawa to bypass some of its own environmental laws to get a project built, though a conditions document would still be issued through the approvals process.
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon told The Canadian Press the government wanted C-5 passed quickly to get the major projects office up and running, allowing CEO Dawn Farrell to inventory major projects and find ways to move them forward.
"Ultimately, projects that will end up being listed for the full processes envisaged under Bill C-5 will be those that have already run a very high-level, high-powered gauntlet of close scrutiny to see what's required to get them over the goal line," MacKinnon said, adding more projects are to come.
The Arctic road projects
The two Arctic projects announced Wednesday are the Grays Bay road and port project and the Mackenzie Valley highway, both of which were referred to the major projects office in March.
The Grays Bay project would build a 230-kilometre all-season road through the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, opening up access to critical mineral deposits in the region. Construction is not expected to start until 2029.
The Mackenzie Valley highway would connect Yellowknife to Inuvik, cutting travel times for communities currently only reachable by air, winter road, or barge. Construction on the final leg could begin in 2028.
"We all know that the North is central to Canada's economic future," MacKinnon said at the news conference. "The Grays Bay road and port project and the Mackenzie Valley highway project are nation-building initiatives. They are about strengthening Arctic sovereignty, creating economic opportunity and supporting the communities that call the North home."
Conservative pushback
The Conservatives helped pass C-5 despite some opposition members criticizing the speed of its passage. Since then, the party has taken aim at the Liberals for not using the new powers quickly enough.
Shannon Stubbs, the party's energy critic, said Wednesday's announcement doesn't amount to a guarantee.
"Mark Carney promised projects at 'speeds once thought unimaginable.' Instead, Canadians got the same Liberal delay, bureaucracy and spin that block jobs, resources, investment and infrastructure," Stubbs wrote on X.
Other projects referred to the major projects office
With the addition of the nuclear waste site, the government has now referred 16 projects and seven "transformative strategies" to the major projects office. Others include a hydroelectric power plant in Iqaluit, a nuclear facility in Darlington, Ont., the Nouveau Monde graphite mine in Quebec, and the North Coast Transmission Line from British Columbia to the Northwest Territories.
The only other project Ottawa has indicated it intends to designate as a project of national interest is a proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast, part of an energy deal with Alberta. A memorandum of understanding signed in November set a July 1 deadline for an application to be submitted to the major projects office. As of Wednesday, no such application has been filed.
*With files from CP
