Filed under: Capitalism, Economy, Energy, Environment, Foreign Policy | Tags: Canada's Side of the Story, Market Diversity, Obama Indecision is Wakeup Call
CBC chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge had a lengthy, wide-ranging and revealing conversation (video here) with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper yesterday concerning energy and health care. Any developments such as the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline should be left to Canadians.
It’s one thing in terms of whether Canadians, you know, want jobs, to what degree Canadians want environmental protection. These are all valid questions. But just because certain people in the United States wold like to see Canada be one giant national park for the northern half of North America. I don’t think that’s part of what our review process is all about. (emphasis added)
The $5.5 billion Northern Gateway project is a proposal by Canadian oil and gas company Enbridge to build two pipelines between the Alberta oilsands and the West Coast.
Harper said news the Obama administration would delay a decision on whether to approve extending TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline was a wakeup call about the degree to which Canada is “held hostage” to U.S. decisions. He has since pressed for Canada to seek out new markets in Asia.
The entire interview is available here, and a Canadian view of the energy situation and the Keystone XL pipeline from Canadian sources is valuable. What Harper is obviously inferring is that the United States is not dependable, and it is in Canada’s interest not to count on only one unreliable customer. Foreign (U.S.) money is flowing to Canadian environmental organizations, and the Canadians don’t appreciate the radical interference. It can be quite helpful to get the other side of the story.
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