SASKATOON - The First Ministers meeting in Saskatoon has wrapped with participants feeling optimistic about getting nation-building projects off the ground.
"This has been the best meeting we've had in 10 years. Simple," said Ontario Premier Doug Ford at the closing news conference, who added that for him it was the "best meeting I've had in seven years" as Premier.
But there were still many loose ends to emerge from the meeting between the federal government and the 13 Premiers, one of the most pressing being which nation building projects ought to go ahead.
Prime Minister Mark Carney was pressed for specifics on why there was no announcement that day of projects that would be fast-tracked. Instead, he pointed to the long list of projects put forward at the meeting by the provinces.
"There is a long list of projects that bring the country together, diversify our markets, make us more resilient, create good jobs and growth, have very good prospects of indigenous partnerships, and beyond," said Carney.
"The purpose of the meeting today was to catalyze bringing projects up, getting a shared understanding of what would constitute a project of national interest, explaining the new federal approach to this, building consensus and unity... and this, if I may, this is a unified group. This is a group that wants to work together and will work together to build our country.
"And now, we move quickly from this position. The job of the federal government, our first job, is legislation -- legislation to give ourselves the ability to make this a reality. But we will very quickly move into the summer to refine that list from the list we have. I think as more private proponents become aware of the opportunity here, we're going to see more projects coming forth.
Carney was also pressed on the issue of pipelines carrying bitumen east, west and north. He was asked if he would be sidestepping certain environmental requirements in Bill C-69 to fasttrack such a project.
In response Carney noted that the Western and territories premiers "have met and supported an approach – the Western Corridor, the Western and Arctic Corridor, effectively a corridor between port to port to port from Pacific Northwest to James Bay to Grays Bay Point. And within that are opportunities in energy, critical minerals, and well beyond. And specifically within energy, opportunities, yes, for an oil pipeline, an oil pipeline to get to tidewater.
Carney noted that with the broader context of national interest, the interest is in "decarbonized barrels, so working alongside forms of decarbonization.
That is absolutely our interest. It provides diversification of trade partners. It provides the development of new industries. It provides economic activity across the West and into the North. So, yes, there's real potential there."
When asked if the federal government was prepared to say it was willing to fast-track an oil pipeline without a private sector proponent saying it wants to build one, Carney replied it was "not a decision we have to make today. I think what's clear, let it be absolutely clear."
"We're saying, and this is consistent, this is consistent with the agreement we had as First Ministers back in March when we met in Ottawa, when we talked about energy and trade corridors. We had a little less focus because we hadn't translated that into a legislative initiative and more specifics about the project. But there is an ability to build that energy infrastructure, that oil pipeline."
The lack of specifics about what may or may not go ahead did not seem to bother the Premiers. Premier Ford said there was no expectation at the meeting that "the Prime Minister was going to come out and say, 'you get that project, you get that project.'"
Ford said the Premiers emerged from the meeting united.
"It was a great discussion. Now, we were all talking. Now it's time to put it into action... Now the Prime Minister is going to go to work, get legislation passed, and we'll divvy it up. I described him today as Santa Claus. He's coming, and his sleigh was full of all sorts of stuff. Now he's taking off back to the North Pole, he's going to sort it out, and then he's going to call us."
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith were asked if they shared Ford's enthusiasm about the meeting.
"Yes, I think we do have an opportunity here," said Moe, pointing to "some of the generational opportunities" as well as a "conversation around really aspiring to a greater economic future than maybe what we've had in the last number of years."
"I would say in the meetings that I've had, whether they be First Minister's meetings, Council of Federation meetings over the last seven and a half years, that today was a very positive meeting and I hope that Canadians would feel very positive with their provincial, territorial and federal leaders coming out after today in agreement on that."
"I would say I'm encouraged by the immediate change of tone that we've seen from recent months," said Smith.
"I think that there's, when we hear the Prime Minister talking about being an energy superpower, we haven't heard that kind of language for some time on both conventional and clean power. And I think that the fact that we quantify that we've got 1.8 trillion barrels of oil, bitumen, and about 165 billion barrels is recoverable in today's technology, even at $60 oil, that's a $9 trillion asset and you simply wouldn't have a policy of leaving a $9 trillion asset in the ground when it can stand to benefit everyone."
Smith said her province was willing to work with the Feds on "addressing some of the issues that are going to stand in the way of creating the environment for private investment."
"It doesn't help you to build a pipeline to the west coast if there's a tanker ban. It becomes difficult to expand your natural gas market if you've got net zero power rights that are requiring it to be phased out by 2035. And you can't expand production if you have emissions caps. So those are future conversations to be had about how we create that environment. But I think what I heard was that the Prime Minister wants to work on a dual track to be able to find some compromises on all of those, and I'm encouraged by that."
