‘Peculiar politics’
Harper laments the Obama administration’s latest Keystone signals.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said U.S. delays in approving the Keystone XL pipeline are “not a hopeful sign” and reflect the “peculiar politics” of the Obama administration.
“A positive decision has not been rendered for a very long time, that’s obviously not a hopeful sign,” Harper said in an interview Wednesday at his Ottawa office, adding he discussed the matter recently with the U.S. president. “I think there’s very peculiar politics of this particular administration.”
U. S. President Barack Obama will reject the project in August, Republican Senator John Hoeven said Tuesday, citing unidentified “sources.” TransCanada Corp.’ s proposed US$8-billion link between Alberta crude deposits and Gulf Coast refineries has been under review since 2008.
Harper said a rejection of the pipeline “is clearly possible,” when asked about Hoeven’s comments.
Getting the project approved has been among Harper’s highest-priority diplomatic efforts. He called the project a “no-brainer” in a 2011 interview.
A rejection of the project in the next few months could be a setback for Harper heading into Oct. 19 elections. His government’s position has consistently been that Keystone offers job creation and the displacement of oil imports from countries that can be hostile to the U.S.
Keystone has become one of the most controversial energy issues of Obama’s presidency. He has questioned its benefits to the U.S. and vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would have bypassed a State Department review and allowed construction.
“The fact a decision has not been rendered for so long, even after all the objective analyses said that the project is better from an economic standpoint, an energy standpoint, even an environmental standpoint — it’s certainly preferable to rail — even after all those things, a decision hasn’t been rendered,” Harper said.
“I believe that whether this project goes ahead or not under this administration, it will ultimately go ahead under a subsequent administration.”