FREDERICTON, New Brunswick – Federal and provincial officials in Canada are turning up the heat on a high-octane dispute over U.S. proposals to build liquefied natural gas facilities on a pristine bay between New Brunswick and Maine.

Andy Scott, federal minister of Indian affairs and New Brunswick’s senior cabinet minister, has joined growing opposition to the proposed construction of major LNG operations on the Maine side of Passamaquoddy Bay, a large inlet off the Bay of Fundy that is home to the rare North Atlantic right whale.

Scott, the member of Parliament for Fredericton, said such projects present too many risks because of the location.

“With well over 2,000 miles of U.S. coastline on the eastern seaboard, I believe there is no need to locate these facilities in an area that presents navigational difficulties and is home to numerous endangered or at-risk species,” Scott said in a statement Thursday from the federal Liberal caucus retreat in Regina.

“We will work together with New Brunswick and are prepared to act should an LNG project application be put forward.”