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Wyant, whose portfolio includes the Crown corporation responsible for managing major infrastructure projects, told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix last month that he was confident he would be able to commit to signing a deal within about two weeks.

His comments came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — who was in Saskatoon for the Liberal Party of Canada’s caucus retreat — used the unsigned agreement as ammunition in his battle with the provincial government over his controversial carbon pricing plan.

“The only thing we’re waiting for is for the province to actually step up and sign the bilateral agreement,” Trudeau said.

Photo by Michael Bell / Regina Leader-Post

Wyant subsequently told The StarPhoenix that was unfair because the provincial government had never said it would not ink a deal with Ottawa, and was holding out for greater flexibility on how some of the money is distributed.

“I’ve made it clear that that was my primary goal, my first goal as minister, because this is important to the province of Saskatchewan,” Wyant said.

“This is important to the people of this province … almost $1 billion in federal funding and some matching funding from the province.”

Champagne’s press secretary, Ann-Clara Vaillancourt, declined on Tuesday to confirm any details of Wednesday’s announcement. In an email, she said it will be “a great (one) for Saskatchewan.”

The provincial government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

amacpherson@postmedia.com

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