CME Disappointed with Frontier Project Cancelation

OTTAWA (February 24, 2020) – Manufacturers across Canada are disappointed Teck Frontier oil sand mine project will not go forward. This decision to withdraw the application under the Canadian Environmental assessment program suggests to other potential international and domestic investors the regulatory frameworks in place are unpredictable.

The Teck Frontier project has gone through a rigorous 10-year review and won a recommendation for approval from the independent federal regulator prior to withdrawing its application. “Businesses and investors need a mechanism that allows good natural resources projects to proceed as quickly, amicably and predictably as possible. The system in place did not allow this decision to proceed rapidly or with certainty,” said Dennis Darby, President & CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters. “Manufacturers are calling on the government to review its approval processes to enhance economic growth and competitiveness. We simply must be able to build critical economic infrastructure in Canada.”

The Canadian energy industry  is an essential supplier and customer of the manufacturing sector. It provides over 528,000 total jobs to highly skilled workers across the country, including throughout the manufacturing value chain. “Nationally significant natural resources projects such as Teck Frontier have the potential to generate substantial economic spinoff across Canada, mostly through the manufacturing sector. In order to protect Canadian jobs and enable the creation of new ones, companies and employees need certainty on project approvals,” added Darby.

 

ABOUT CANADIAN MANUFACTURERS & EXPORTERS

Since 1871, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters has been helping manufacturers grow at home and, compete around the world. Our focus is to ensure manufacturers are recognized as engines for growth in the economy, with Canada acknowledged as both a global leader and innovator in advanced manufacturing and a global leader in exporting. CME is a member-driven association that directly represents more than 2,500 leading companies who account for an estimated 82 per cent of manufacturing output and 90 per cent of Canada’s exports.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Stefi Proulx
Director of Communications & Branding
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters
(613) 292-6070
stefi.proulx@cme-mec.ca