A company that is building a copper mine in northern Saskatchewan is pleased to be included on the prime minister’s list of nation building projects. However, the province and the federal conservatives are disappointed Ottawa did not include an oil pipeline.

Construction is well underway on a billion-dollar copper mine near Creighton in Northern Saskatchewan. Prime Minister Mark Carney wants any regulatory approvals expedited. The company says the current phase has approvals in place, but it will be helpful for future expansion.

“We are fully permitted for the McIlvenna Bay mine but already looking at what we can do with phase two so there will be future permits that this should help with,” explained Carter Zazula, the director of government relations with Foran Mining.

This week, Carney included five major projects on his nation building list including expansion of a liquified natural gas facility in Kitimat B.C. and the country’s first small modular reactor in Ontario.

The federal Conservatives are disappointed that there was no mention of a pipeline.

“The fact that there’s no pipelines on this list means there won’t be new jobs at Regina’s steel plant, and it means that there won’t be new opportunities to develop Saskatchewan’s oil and gas so that’s devastating,” MP Andrew Scheer told CTV News.

“The world wants more Canadian energy.”

The province unveiled a new critical mining investment incentive to coincide with the federal announcement.

The NDP support the copper mine but question the priorities.

“There are no projects announced today related to new pipelines, rail capacity or Saskatchewan power generation,” NDP MLA Kim Breckner stated.

The five projects on the prime minister’s list represent the first round.

More are expected – with Ottawa not excluding a pipeline for fast tracking – if a proposal is received.