MONTREAL — Federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson says it's too early to say whether a liquefied natural gas facility pitched for Quebec meets the bar of being in the national interest.

“My sense is this is not a project that is at a scale where we need to be looking at it,” the minister said. “It's certainly not a project of national interest at this point.”

The minister made the comment in Montreal on Friday during an announcement Canada would be investing $22 million to boost the country’s battery production capacity.

Marinvest Energy Canada had been lobbying Hodgson's department in recent months regarding a possible natural gas pipeline and export facility near Baie-Comeau, Que, just as the Liberal government was preparing to table legislation to fast-track major projects.

The federal

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