Martin Ignasiak comments in S&P Global’s Platts Daily Briefing on how Canada's resource sector is hoping that Tim Hodgson, Prime Minister Mark Carney's pick for the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, will be a good sign for mining and energy companies and for potential investments in the sector.
Martin says the industry may remain somewhat skeptical of the government's rush of resource promises, especially in the energy sector. But otherwise, the mining and energy industries are hopeful that Carney and Hodgson will accelerate resource development. "I think that pick has been very favorably received," Martin told Platts.
Martin also pointed out that the federal government has yet to come to terms with a 2023 Supreme Court decision that ruled the Impact Assessment Act, which governs federal permitting processes, unconstitutional, as it overreached federal authority in some areas of provincial jurisdiction. "The government of Canada is going to have to take the first step in terms of streamlining or clarifying the regulatory processes before people are willing to invest," Martin said.