Canadian ambassador believes Keystone can be approved under Obama despite skepticism

Although U.S. President Barack Obama voiced more skepticism regarding the Keystone XL pipeline Friday, Canada’s ambassador to the United States believes the project can still get approved with Obama in office.

In his press conference in Washington Friday, Obama once again said the pipeline, which would carry Alberta crude to Texas refineries, is better for one side of the border.

“It’s good for the Canadian oil industry, but it’s not going to be a huge benefit to U.S. consumers, it’s not even going to be a nominal benefit to U.S. consumers,” Obama said, adding although the temporary jobs it would create aren’t insignificant, they could create many more for other American priorities.

“When you consider what we could be doing rebuilding our roads and bridges around the country, something that Congress could authorize, we could probably create hundreds of thousands of jobs or a million jobs,” he said.

In response, Ambassador Gary Doer said he believes it could get approved with Obama in Congress and there’s multiple positive attributes supporters of the project can use to promote the project and there’s plenty of debate to be had in the new year.

“There’s going to be a lot of back and forth between the Democrats and the Republicans over the next number of months and you’re going to see that from the President and you’re going to see that from the Republican Senate, you’re going to see that from the Republican hill,” he said. “It’s not going to be straight-forward.”

Obama also said he wants to make sure the project doesn’t contribute to the problem of climate change and touched on its significance to the U.S. economy.

“I think there’s been this tendency to really hype this thing as some magic formula and to what ails the U.S. economy and it’s hard to see on paper where exactly they’re getting that information from,” he said.

But along with listing political approval and public opinion as arguments for the project, Doer spoke heavily on the scientific merit of Keystone XL.

“Science says lower emission, better safety and lower costs on a pipeline versus rail,” Doer said. “The environmental industry has said that if a pipeline is not approved, the oil will stay in the ground and therefore the climate will eventually be better, well four years later, they’re wrong.”

“To have massive amounts on rail because we won’t approve a pipeline, I think it borders on environmental malpractice and I think five years from now, that’s going to be the judgement of history.

Even if a new Republican-controlled Senate were to vote in favour of the project, Obama has executive authority to veto it.

“Canada doesn’t want to be involved in the politics of it, we want to be involved in the science and merit,” Doer said. “On science and merit, lower emissions, lower safety risk and lower costs, pipeline versus rail, it’s one, two, three, approve it.”

Doer made the comments along side Alberta Premier Jim Prentice in Calgary Friday afternoon, who also commented briefly on the government’s role moving forward.

“On a bipartisan basis, the advice that we are receiving as a government, me as a premier, is that we need to be there to set the factual record straight and to ensure that this project, which is in the interest of both of our countries, goes ahead,” Prentice said.

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