By Teddy Clark and Marci Cho
Recent weeks offered a harsh reminder that Canada must get smarter and faster when it comes to major project approvals. It’s time to tackle the bureaucracy that is costing us all and get our strategic resources to international markets.
The Rook I Project, located in the Clearwater River Dene Nation territory of Saskatchewan, is an example of the federal government failing us. This world-class project owned by NexGen Energy is capable of producing 25 per cent of the world’s mined uranium supply when in operation, enough to power 46 million homes per year.
Its scale could help return Canada to its former role as the world’s largest producer of uranium (Canada was overtaken by Kazakhstan in 2009) at a time when strategic international trading relationships have never been more important.
Furthermore, NexGen will generate an estimated $37 billion in economic activity over its first 10 years of mining activity. This massive opportunity for Canada exists right now.
Outgoing prime minister Justin Trudeau and the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, publicly called for the country to “come together” and build more energy projects, yet the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has delayed the approval of Rook I. We request that the government of Canada and newly installed Prime Minister Mark Carney approve this project immediately, for the benefit of not only our Nation, but the nation as a whole.
In Canada, and critically for the people in northern Saskatchewan, this project will deliver well-paying jobs and economic opportunity for decades, meaning unprecedented positive multi-generational impacts to a region and communities that have been historically overlooked and under-invested in.
The Rook I Project has formalized legal support from all Indigenous communities located in the project area through signed benefit agreements. It received Saskatchewan Environmental Approval in November 2023, and 12 months later, the CNSC deemed the federal Environmental Impact Study complete and final.
Our communities have repeatedly requested that the CNSC president call a commission hearing in early 2025. After long awaiting action from the CNSC, we have been informed the final hearing date has been set for Feb. 13, 2026 — taking the approval of the project to nearly two and a half years since its provincial approval.
Justin Trudeau and Jonathan Wilkinson talked about clean energy and creating opportunities for Indigenous communities — this is it!
It is time for Mark Carney to deliver on his commitment to making a stronger Canada and direct the CNSC to efficiently approve this critical economic resource project immediately. Given today’s U.S. trade tensions, and Canada’s commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action #92 in advancing Indigenous communities, we are at a loss as to why this project hasn’t already been approved.
Since 2019, the project has been subject to rigorous review by Elders, technical experts, provincial and federal regulators and bureaucrats. We, along with other Indigenous communities representing all Indigenous interests in the project area, have thoroughly studied the environmental, economic and social impacts of this project and have concluded it is a generational opportunity that is safe, environmentally sound and ready to proceed.
In 2022, our Nation endorsed Rook I to the CNSC because of the high environmental and safety standards, the transformative potential for our community, and our aspiration to fuel the clean-energy future.
Our Nation has met and corresponded with the CNSC over the past five years, and recently, reiterated to the CNSC our strong support for the project. The CNSC has indicated to us that they have no technical or environmental concerns, that stakeholder engagement conducted by NexGen is unprecedented, and that this is a priority project. How then can a priority project so fundamentally sound take this long, particularly when a regulator — the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment — has already approved it over 16 months ago?
There are significant consequences of further approval delay to the communities and stakeholders in the form of lost opportunity and trust. Locally, this harms the educational prospects of our youth, denies steady, good-paying jobs, and prevents Clearwater River Dene Nation from being a major contributor to Canada’s role as a global energy superpower. Bureaucracy, duplicative regulatory processes and lack of accountability are detracting from Canada’s ability to attract global investment in our natural resources sector — the engine of our national economy.
For our Nation, for Canada, for the planet, the stakes could not be higher.
Canada’s trading relationships and sovereignty are under threat. We can no longer afford bureaucratic delays and debilitating red tape. It’s time to get this country moving again, starting with approval of the Rook I project immediately.
Postmedia News
Teddy Clark is the Chief of the Clearwater River Dene Nation.