Is it prudent behaviour or fear of making a decision? The Obama government in the US has spent more than 2100 days reviewing the Keystone XL pipeline.
The $7-billion dollar project is seen as a crucial development for Canada’s oil sands. As a result the Harper government has been lobbying hard for its approval. Alberta’s government has also been in Washington trying to sell the benefits of the pipeline to both countries.
The Fraser Institute’s, Kenneth Green says, “I think Keystone has hurt US-Canadian relations quite a bit.
“Canadians are very aware that they’re being … but it is a market ostensibly protected through NAFTA, which was put in place to specifically make sure the US had access to Canadian oil, and now the US is basically ignoring it now when it’s convenient,” Green added.
In response, Canada is moving ahead with the Northern Gateway pipeline, Kinder Morgan is also thinking about moving oil to the west coast from Alberta. The company behind Keystone XL, TransCanada, is also looking east to move its oil, instead of south.
All three options would hurt the US as Canada would either refine more oil or have it done overseas instead of using the Gulf of Mexico refineries.
(Source: The Daily Caller)
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