Keystone pipeline debate could hold up approval of U.S. envoy
Nominee faces complicated process
Former United States ambassadors to Canada say the Keystone XL pipeline debate will complicate Bruce Heyman’s confirmation as the next top U.S. envoy to Canada and that the process could delay his posting for several months.
One former ambassador also cautions that Canada-U.S. relations will be damaged if the Obama administration rejects the Keystone XL oilsands pipeline.
With David Jacobson, the most recent envoy, having departed Ottawa in early July, the position could be left vacant for half a year or longer at a critical time in Canada-U.S. relations.
Former American ambassador Gordon Giffin, who served under Bill Clinton, says the Keystone XL project is clearly at the top of Canada-U.S. relations and that it will almost certainly be an issue leading up to and during Heyman’s Senate confirmation hearing.
Giffin said the confirmation process in the Senate will be more complex than normal, mostly because of the timing of the appointment and sensitivity of the pipeline project.
“The Keystone issue, to put it mildly, will complicate his confirmation process. But ultimately that will be resolved and he’ll get confirmed,” Giffin said in an interview with Postmedia News.
“Keystone is at the top of everybody’s mind. It has taken on proportions because of the debate in the United States, frankly, that make it seem as if it’s a bigger issue than it really is.”
U.S. President Barack Obama announced Thursday he would nominate Heyman, a political fundraiser and businessman from Chicago, to be the new American ambassador to Canada.
Heyman, a personal friend of Obama, has been a partner at the investment firm of Goldman Sachs in Chicago.
His appointment must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Giffin believes Heyman is a very good choice because of his close ties to Obama and senior officials in the administration.
Canadians shouldn’t think twice about the delay in announcing the selection, he said, arguing there’s “absolutely no correlation” between when an ambassador is nominated and the importance of the country he is going to.
David Wilkins, former ambassador to Canada under George W. Bush, said the confirmation process, when all goes well, can take anywhere from two or three months to five or six months.
“Normally a confirmation of a U.S. ambassador to Canada usually goes fairly smoothly, but Keystone certainly may be an issue that he’s asked about during the confirmation hearing,” Wilkins said in an interview.