‘Let's fix the basics': Bonnie Crombie on Ontario's position in trade talks
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie discusses what she hopes the province will gain from meetings between premiers and PM.
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CBC
26 minutes ago
- CBC
Carney to visit his hometown of Fort Smith, N.W.T., on Wednesday
Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit his hometown of Fort Smith, N.W.T., on Wednesday — his first official visit to the territory since he was elected. According to the Prime Minister's Office, Carney and Premier R.J. Simpson will meet with local families Wednesday morning in Fort Smith to discuss affordability challenges and food insecurity. Carney is also scheduled to meet with local leaders in Fort Smith about the impact of wildfires in the N.W.T. Though this wildfire season has been relatively calm so far, the territory has been hit hard by fires in recent years, including the evacuation of Fort Smith, Hay River and Yellowknife in 2023. Carney was born in Fort Smith and lived in the southern N.W.T. town until his family moved south when he was about six years old. He will be in Inuvik on Thursday, where he will visit the local community centre and meet with Natan Obed, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and Duane Smith, the chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. He's expected to discuss Bill C-5, the federal government's major projects legislation. The federal government said it would hold a series of "summits" over the summer with First Nations, Inuit and Métis to discuss the Building Canada Act, which gives the government the power to fast-track projects and bypass certain laws, government regulations and environmental assessments if an industry project is deemed in the national interest.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Ottawa's major projects law won't affect the N.W.T. much, premier says
N.W.T. Premier R.J. Simpson says he expects Bill C-5, passed into law last month as the federal Building Canada Act, to have a limited effect in the territory. Simpson says the territory's resource regime implements modern treaties that can't be easily sidestepped without consultation. "That is not modified by Bill C-5, and for the most part there will be no effect by Bill C-5 in the Northwest Territories," he said. The major projects legislation contains a list of federal acts that can be "overridden or modified," but the Mackenzie Valley Resources Management Act is not one of them, according to Simpson. It's a federal piece of legislation, a modern treaty document, and it's constitutionally protected, he said. "It's not the kind of thing that the federal government can just ignore or change on a whim," he said. However, the Inuvialuit region is an outlier, where the new federal act's effects are still being determined, said Simpson. First Nations leaders met Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa last week for a summit on the Building Canada Act, which allows cabinet to expedite project approvals and bypass environmental laws. Later this week, Carney will be in Inuvik, N.W.T., meeting with Inuit to talk about how the legislation can be implemented consistent with Inuit land claims agreements and in partnership with Inuit. The bill became law on June 26 and is intended to improve Canada's economic position in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's squeeze on trade relations. With growing federal interest in Northern projects, Simpson said N.W.T. residents need to find a way to build a road to the Arctic Ocean, and move ahead on the Taltson hydro expansion project, and the Mackenzie Valley Highway project. "At this point, we are the only ones who are going to be standing in our way," he said. Asked whether the new legislation might drive developers toward more deregulated environments in the provinces, Simpson said N.W.T. has not received the same level of investment as the rest of Canada, over generations. "It shows in the strength of our economy and the diversity of our economy," he said. 'We are not against development' Dene National Chief George Mackenzie is among several leaders who met with Carney last Wednesday and Thursday. Mackenzie says First Nations in the N.W.T. want ownership stakes in the projects Ottawa deems to be in the national interest and he expressed optimism that the prime minister will rise to the task. "We are not against development, so that is very clear ... The question is, what does this word 'national interest' mean? That word 'national interest' makes us nervous," said Mackenzie. "If these projects are gonna go ahead, the treaty people — the treaty holders, Dene Nation as a whole — has to take an equity position and be the owners of those projects," he said. Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian said the Dehcho region contains immense riches that could meet Canada's demand for critical minerals, but if Canada wants to extract resources from areas currently under interim land withdrawals, it needs to get First Nations' consent, he said. "You want to fast track your access? Well, let's fast track negotiations," Norwegian said. With a northerner — N.W.T. MP Rebecca Alty — now the minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Norwegian expects movement on the Deh Cho final agreement. In a scrum Thursday, Alty said "national interest projects" are those which " advance the interests of Indigenous peoples," and that "we can't advance every project." N.W.T. can be example, premier says Simpson said that despite the limited impact the new federal legislation will have in the N.W.T., he wants the territory's nation-building projects noted and paid for, especially the Arctic security corridor to bring telecommunications and energy infrastructure from the North Slave region to the Northwest Passage. He said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, whose government is determined to bring its oil to international markets, is also supportive of the security corridor. The N.W.T.'s environment minister is still in talks with Alberta about water and potential downstream impacts of oil and gas expansion, he said. "We're affected by everything that they do that comes downstream, but we also have a good working relationship with them," he said. Simpson says other regions may be looking to the N.W.T. as an example of how to uphold and implement modern treaties through a streamlined environmental assessment process, and seek Indigenous ownership behind future projects.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Sask. joins Ont., Alta. in energy, mineral infrastructure deal
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has joined Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in a memorandum of understanding to build infrastructure that will ensure Ontario minerals and western oil and gas get to market overseas. Some are already skeptical if the provinces can deliver.
