Canada’s new major projects office to open this week, energy minister says
Global News
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson says Canada is focusing on speed in getting new infrastructure built to support energy exports, including liquified natural gas.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said Wednesday the federal government’s new major projects office will open this week, as Ottawa prepares to make its first announcements on boosting large-scale infrastructure.
Hodgson made his comments in a speech at the Canadian embassy in Berlin, where he said Canada is placing an emphasis on speed in getting new infrastructure built so it can ramp up energy exports — including liquified natural gas.
Asked to clarify the timing by reporters later on Wednesday, Hodgson said an announcement was imminent.
“Today’s Wednesday, so it’ll either be Thursday or Friday,” he said during a virtual briefing from Germany.
“I hope you will be quite pleased on Thursday or Friday with the announcement of the launch of the major projects office, the leadership of the major projects office and the plans for it. And I would expect over the next two weeks, the first projects to be announced.”
The Liberal government rushed its major projects bill through Parliament in June so it could speed up approval times for large industrial projects, with the goal of getting from proposal to construction in under two years.
Under the new law, a major projects office would oversee those fact-tracked approvals with guidance from public servants and First Nations representatives. The office would coordinate with provincial and local governments to get their seals of approval as well.
Hodgson accompanied Prime Minister Mark Carney to Germany this week, part of a larger European tour that saw Carney solidifying economic and defence ties with Canadian allies.
Lina Vargas was on the board for almost two years and told Global News that accountability and transparency are fundamental rights for all community members.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly told the House of Commons committee on international trade the move breaches federal contracts tied to manufacturing in Brampton and Windsor, Ont.
A targeted home invasion and kidnapping led to a gunpoint standoff with police and an overnight chase across Toronto. Two suspects remain at large, investigators say.
In a post on his LinkedIn account, Simon Donner says he resigned on Tuesday and he is grateful for the opportunity to help shape climate policy in Canada.
The development charges can vary greatly from city to city, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report found.
The three leaders will be in Washington, D.C., for the FIFA World Cup draw, marking the first time they will be in the same room together.
Flu season has arrived early, with CHEO reporting eight times more cases than last year as hospitals warn of rising infections among children and seniors.
Nova Scotia’s largest utility is responding to a stinging letter from Premier Tim Houston by insisting it hasn't broken any laws.
A British Columbia Liberal MP said Prime Minister Mark Carney "will have to answer" questions on why he reversed a budget commitment on tax credits in Alberta energy deal.
AFN Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has said Budget 2025 failed First Nations because it did not include more infrastructure funding and educational resources for their communities.
Conservation officers in B.C. say they've captured four more grizzly bears that are being tested to determine if they were involved in an attack on a school group last month.
Joshua Wright says a yellow cedar tree he photographed last year was "incredible," the largest he'd ever seen in a decade of hiking around Vancouver Island.
Canadians could face grocery bills up to $1,000 higher in 2026 as food prices rise 4-6 per cent, with restaurants and meat seeing the biggest jumps.