Ottawa, Canada (CU)_ Seamus O’Regan, the Minister of Natural Resources of Canada, rejected calls by President Joe Biden to impose sanctions on the United States over his efforts to curb the expansion of the Keystone XL pipeline. During an emergency discussion at the House of Commons, O’Regan said, “Madame Speaker, I have not yet heard a single argument that would convince me that a trade war is in the best interests of our oil and gas workers”. He added, “the government has a responsibility to Albertans to safeguard our relationship with the single largest customer for Canadian crude.”
His remarks arrived after the federal government faced calls for sanctions against the US after Biden signed an order revoking the permit a few hours after taking office. Donald Trump, his predecessor, initiated the project in 2017. The project, previously approved by TC Energy, will transport up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to Nebraska on a 1,930-kilometre pipeline. It was estimated that the project would cost US$8 billion.
In Alberta, as the provincial government has spent around $1.5 billion in several stages of its growth, the consequences of the cancellation of Keystone XL are much deeper. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney referred the decision a “gut punch” and urged Trudeau and the federal government to speak to the Biden administration. During a press conference, Jason Kenney said, “If, however, the U.S. government refuses to open the door to a constructive and respectful dialogue about these issues, then it is clear that the government of Canada must impose meaningful trade and economic sanctions in response to defend our country’s vital economic interests”.
O’Regan, however, said “they will not jeopardize the more than $100 billion in energy products that we export to the United States every year. There is a difference between illegal tariffs on existing products and the cancellation of a permit for a project that is not yet operational. We got this relationship right with an unpredictable presidential administration for the past four years. We will get it right with the predictable one for the next four years to the benefit of workers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and right across Canada”.
The decision of Biden to withdraw the permit is in line with one of his primary campaign pledges to switch the US from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The executive order released in the website of White House on Wednesday said “following an exhaustive review, the State Department and Biden determined that approving the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the U.S. national interest.” The federal government had long expected that the initiative would be cancelled right after the Democrat takes office.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole attacked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s handling of the pipeline talks during the Question Period earlier on Monday, saying he ” bet the jobs of thousands of Canadians on a single phone call to the President.” Trudeau fired back, saying that was “simply not the case.” He said he has for many years been campaigning for Canada’s oil and gas workforce. He said, “Over the last five years we’ve demonstrated that investing in oil and gas and fighting climate change can go together. The government will stay focused on sticking up for Canadians every step of the way.”
After the call between Trudeau and Biden, a report of the call released by the Prime Minister’s office said, “The Prime Minister underscored the important economic and energy security benefits of our bilateral energy relationship as well as his support for energy workers”.
