Project Agreements

What is a Project Agreement?

A Project Agreement is an agreement between federal Deputy Ministers that outlines the process by which federal departments or agencies will carry out their particular roles or responsibilities during the federal regulatory review of a proposed major resource project. more »

MPMO Current Project Agreements

Project Name	Signatories	Date
Hammond Reef Gold Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2011-11-04
Vantage Pipeline in Alberta and Saskatchewan	NRCan, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2011-08-24
Bakken Pipeline in Manitoba and Saskatchewan	NRCan, NEB, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2011-08-24
Jackpine Oil Sands Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2011-10-06
Marathon Metal - Copper Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2011-09-29
Renard Diamond Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, EC, AANDC	2011-08-23
Ajax Copper-Gold Mine	NRCan,CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2011-08-17
Midwest Uranium Mining and Milling	NRCan, CNSC, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2011-08-23
Robb Trend Coal Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2011-07-22
BlackRock Metal Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, EC, AANDC	2011-07-21
Harper Creek Copper-Gold-Silver Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2011–06–22
Labrador - Island Transmission Link	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC, CTA	2011–06–21
Central South Coal Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC, CTA	2011–04–27
Kitsault Molybdenum Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, EC, AANDC	2011-04-19
Elmtree Property Gold Mine	NRCan,CEAA, DFO, EC, AANDC	2011-04-12
Pointe du Bois Spillway Replacement	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2011-03-22
Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell Copper-Gold Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2010-10-27
Matoush Uranium Exploration Ramp Access	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, EC, AANDC	2010-10-27
Raven Underground Coal Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC, PAPA	2010-10-13
Quest Carbon Capture and Storage	NRCan, CEAA, CTA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2010-09-22
Line Creek Coal Mine Expansion	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, EC, AANDC	2010-08-18
Detour Lake Gold Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2010-05-03
Morrison Copper-Gold Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2010-04-21
Millennium Uranium Mine	NRCan, CNSC, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2010-03-02
Canpotex Potash Export Terminal	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2010-02-16
Horn River Natural Gas Pipeline	NRCan, NEB, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2010-01-04
Star-Orion South Diamond Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2009-12-14
Naikun Offshore Wind Energy	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2009-12-05
Groundbirch Natural Gas Pipeline	NRCan, NEB, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2009-11-03
Direct Shipping Iron Ore Mine	NRCan,CEAA, CTA, DFO, EC, AANDC	2009-10-30
Mount Milligan Gold-Copper Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, EC, AANDC	2009-10-07
Northern Gateway Pipeline	NRCan, NEB, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, INAC, CTA	2009-10-02
Hebron Offshore Oil Development	NRCan,CEAA,C-NLOPB, DFO, TC, EC, IC	2009-09-04
Lower Churchill Hydroelectric Generation	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2009-08-21
Keystone XL Pipeline	NRCan, NEB, AAFA, DFO, CTA, TC, EC, AANDC	2009-08-20
Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2009-05-22
Darlington New Nuclear Power Plant	NRCan, CNSC, CEAA, CTA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2009-05-16
Bute Inlet Hydroelectric	NRCan, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2009-05-15
Nanticoke Nuclear Power Plant	NRCan, CNSC, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC, FAC	2009-05-15
Deep Geologic Repository	NRCan, CNSC, CEAA, EC, AANDC	2009-05-11
Bruce Power New Nuclear Power Plant	NRCan, CNSC, CEAA, DFO, TC, EC, AANDC	2008-10-31

What is a Project Agreement?

A Project Agreement is an agreement between federal Deputy Ministers that outlines the process by which federal departments or agencies will carry out their particular roles or responsibilities during the federal regulatory review of a proposed major resource project. The agreement includes a timeline and schedule for the completion of the regulatory review with regular milestones to allow tracking of progress.

In general, for projects that fall under the MPMO initiative, following the receipt of a completed Project Description (see Proponent Guide to Submitting a Project Description), all relevant departments and agencies will work collaboratively, under the leadership of the MPMO, to develop a Project Agreement.

Why are Project Agreements important?

Project agreements are a key coordination tool.

Project Agreements serve as a key coordination tool to ensure that the discharge of federal statutory duties is completed in a more coordinated, efficient and effective manner. All project agreements contain coordinated work plans that outline the particular roles and responsibilities of federal departments and agencies throughout the entire lifecycle of a particular regulatory review process. Project Agreements can include the following coordinated work plans:

• an Environmental Assessment work plan;
• an Aboriginal Consultation and Engagement work plan;
• a Permitting, Authorizations and Approvals work plan; and
• a Follow-Up and Monitoring work plan.

Project Agreements are an important accountability mechanism.

Project Agreements articulate the obligations and best effort commitments of departments and agencies during the federal regulatory review of a major resource project. Project Agreements are signed by the Deputy Ministers of these organizations to ensure that obligations and commitments are backed by senior-level accountability.

Each agreement will include a process timeline with clear milestones and service standards to ensure that the review process is completed in a timely and predictable manner. Once signed, all Project Agreements will be posted publicly on the Internet to ensure transparency. The MPMO will track and monitor the progress against agreed-upon timelines and milestones though its publicly-accessible monitoring and tracking system – the MPMO Tracker – and through regular reporting to Deputy Ministers and Ministers. Milestones and service standards will serve as a basis to measure improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of the MPMO process.