EDMONTON—Alberta’s Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen has been given the green light by his federal counterpart to forego assessments required under the Impact Assessment Act, also known as Bill C-69, to build highways.
Dreeshen met with federal Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Dominic LeBlanc at the federal-provincial-territorial infrastructure ministers’ meeting in Moncton, N.B., on Nov. 7.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Dreeshen said he told LeBlanc it doesn’t make sense for Alberta to spend “five plus years” waiting for land assessments required under C-69 before building multiple highways.
“It was reassuring that the federal minister, Dominic LeBlanc, agreed,” he said. “I thought that was a huge win coming from that meeting.”
Dreeshen said Alberta wants to build multiple highways over 200 kilometres to strengthen its economic corridors. That includes Highway 686 in Fort McMurray, Highway 88 in the west, and Highway 28 in the eastern part of the province.
