Ontario mayor says fast-tracking new nuclear project ‘opportunity of a lifetime’

An announcement from the Prime Minister that the Darlington small modular reactor build was one of five major projects given official designation as a nation-building project was welcomed by Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster, who called it an “opportunity of a lifetime.”

“It’s exciting that Prime Minister Mark Carney has chosen the Darlington New Nuclear project as one of the first nation-building initiatives, and the only in Ontario, to be fast-tracked by the Major Projects Office,” Foster said of Ottawa’s move to fast-track mega projects by streamlining regulatory assessment and approvals and helping to structure financing.

Carney launched the new Major Projects Office last month, which will work to identify and expedite projects that are in Canada’s national interest and accelerate their development by reducing the approval timeline to a maximum of two years and working with provinces and territories to achieve a ‘one project, one review’ approach.

The Darlington New Nuclear project will make Canada the first G7 country to have an operational small modular reactor that could support Canadian and global clean energy needs while driving $500 million annually into Ontario’s nuclear supply chain.

Once complete, Darlington’s first of four planned SMR units will provide reliable and clean power to 300,000 homes, while sustaining 3,700 jobs annually, including 18,000 during construction, over the next 65 years.

Foster said the project, coupled with the successful refurbishment of Ontario Power Generation’s CANDU reactors at Darlington, will deliver a $100 billion boost to the Canadian economy.

“Canada is at the forefront of developing a robust domestic nuclear fleet, ready to share our expertise and technology internationally,” Foster said, adding that “the world is watching closely.”

“Delegations from across the globe are visiting Darlington, witnessing work underway for the first grid-scale SMR in the G7,’ he said. “Canada is a global energy superpower … (and) has an amazing opportunity to impact climate change, deliver reliable and affordable energy, produce life-saving isotopes, and unlock immense economic growth.”

An association of Anishinaabeg chiefs have cautioned the federal government, however, that they must be “fully engaged” as partners before ‘nation-building’ projects, such as Darlington’s SMR build, are fast-tracked by Ottawa.

The Michi Saagiig Anishinaabeg Chiefs, representing the Mississaugas of Scugog Island – which has been active partners with OPG on several major contracts at Darlington and Pickering nuclear sites – as well as Alderville, Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations, said the federal government’s decision to advance the Darlington project must begin with “meaningful, early, and ongoing engagement” with First Nations, “affirming our status as rights-holders and stewards of our traditional territories.”

Other project cited for fast-tracking include LNG Canada Phase 2 (Kitimat, B.C.), Contrecoeur Terminal Container project (Port of Montreal), McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine project (Saskatchewan) and the Red Chris Mine expansion (northwest B.C.).

Ottawa also identified several other projects that could be fast-tracked in the coming years, including the Port of Churchill and the long-awaited Alto High-Speed Rail line linking Toronto to Quebec City, with trains reaching speeds of up to 300 km/hour to cut travel times in half and connect close to half of Canada’s population.