But Biden‘s announcement that the Keystone XL project, which is vital to Canada‘s economy, will be cancelled as soon as he takes office has not only upset ordinary Canadians, but politicians as well.
In a conference call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, several governors claimed that Canada could not just swallow the bitter pill in silence and would retaliate against the U.S., even going to war with the U.S. to do so!
Sources told Global News that Thursday’s conference call between the prime minister and the governors lasted more than an hour, and while it touched on the Epidemic and the plan to distribute vaccines across the country, the hot topic was new President Joe Biden’s controversial move to announce the cancellation of the Keystone pipeline project, so much so that the issue of Canada-U.S. relations became a topic of discussion.
According to aides to top officials at the meeting, the governors were so upset with Biden’s decision that they strongly urged that the U.S. be punished or sanctioned, even though it could lead to a breakdown in relations between the two allies. Some aides, who did not want to be identified, said people at the meeting were extremely agitated and emotions ran high, with “some senior officials even calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to go to war with the U.S.”
During the discussion, Ontario Premier Ford, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe were in complete agreement, warning Prime Minister Trudeau that Biden was a “bully” on the pipeline and that we Canadians could not just give in, a number of aides told Global News.
Ford and the governors of other non-oil producing provinces are worried that if Biden can cancel the Keystone pipeline project, he may be able to take it further and adopt a “Buy American” policy to help the U.S. economy recover from the pandemic. In fact, Biden has already committed to this policy on the campaign trail, and once implemented, it will shut out Canadian steel, aluminum and other manufactured goods, which would be extremely damaging to the Canadian economy.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for his part, told governors that he would speak up for the Keystone pipeline when he called Biden on Friday. The call will reportedly be the first Time a new U.S. president has called a foreign leader since he was sworn in on Wednesday.
Trudeau also told the governors that he was interested in improving Canada’s bilateral relationship with the U.S. on a broader level after four years of unhappy relations with Trump, the sources said.
(Web screenshot)
And incoming President Joe Biden’s cancellation of permits for the construction of the Keystone pipeline was one of several executive orders he signed within hours of taking office. Biden’s decision was strongly condemned by the governors of Alaska and Saskatchewan, two of Canada’s major oil-producing provinces whose energy sectors depend heavily on the $8 billion (US$8 billion) project.
Conney and Moe not only criticized Biden’s order, but were also unhappy with the federal government’s response to the decision. In a statement Wednesday, Trudeau said Canada was “disappointed but acknowledges the president’s decision to honor his commitments regarding the Keystone campaign.”
Connie had already said earlier that Biden’s cancellation of the project would be a “heavy blow” to the province’s economy. He told reporters Wednesday that Canada should impose U.S. trade and economic sanctions if the Biden Administration does not agree to further discussions on the project’s future.
If the project is canceled, Connie said, the province will have about $1 billion of its own money at risk and will lose $30 billion in revenue and nearly 60,000 new jobs over the next 20 years.
In a statement released Thursday, Saskatchewan Premier Moe called on the federal government to “look for opportunities to force the Biden administration to allow” (the pipeline project) to resume construction. He said he would raise the issue during a conference call that day.
Moe also issued a statement to that effect.
The Keystone Crude Oil pipeline would reportedly connect from Alberta to existing oil pipelines in the U.S. state of Nebraska in order to transport crude oil from Alberta to refineries in Texas, as well as to ports along the Gulf Coast. The $8 billion project will be able to transport more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta to the United States.
(Web Screenshot)
But the project’s fate has had several twists and turns: first Obama vetoed it, then former President Trump reversed the Obama administration’s decision and gave the green light to issue a construction permit; but after Trump left office, incoming President Biden issued an executive order, and the ban threatened to kill the 900-mile pipeline project.
Recent Comments