Last Updated on January 21, 2021
President Biden’s move to cancel permits for the completion of the Keystone XL pipeline was met with disappointment and concern by Canadian leaders with one Canadian provincial leader suggesting sanctions against the United States.
In Biden’s first day in office, he executed 17 executive orders mainly reversing some significant accomplishments achieved during the Trump administration. Included in those executive orders was a directive to revoke the permits allowing for the completion of the Keystone XL pipeline.
The project, an impressive 1,700 mile pipeline, would have transported roughly 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to the Texas Gulf Coast. The pipeline had permits to pass through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma, with each state’s government approval and support.
The pipeline project, both in Canada and the United States, represented tens of thousands of jobs, both on the pipeline and in the support communities those construction jobs would require.
President Biden revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. It’s an insult to Canada, ends thousands of jobs, and does nothing for the climate. https://t.co/4GZxMYnbgf via @WSJ
— Andy McCarthy (@AndrewCMcCarthy) January 21, 2021
While the liberal Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, struck a conciliatory tone, the same cannot be said for the Premier of Canada’s Alberta Province.
Jason Kenney, the premier of oil-rich Alberta, said Mr. Biden’s termination of the projects permits was an “insult.” He went on to suggest that the Canadian government should impose trade sanctions on the United States if the decision is not reversed.
“It is an insult directed at the United States most important ally and trading partner on day one of a new administration,” Kenney said. “The leader of our closest ally retroactively vetoed approval for a pipeline that exists and which is co-owned by the Canadian government, directly attacking, by far, the largest part of the Canada US trade relationship, which is our energy industry and exports.”
LIVE: Responding to the Presidential border crossing permit being rescinded by President Joe Biden. https://t.co/96USBUYUm0
— Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 20, 2021
On the other side of the border, the president of the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute, Marty Durbin, said the President’s decision is not grounded in science. He added that the move to scuttle the pipeline will put thousands of Americans out of work.
“The pipeline – the most studied infrastructure project in American history – is already under construction and has cleared countless legal and environmental hurdles,” Durbin said in a statement. “Halting construction will also impede the safe and efficient transport of oil, and unfairly single out production from one of our closest and most important allies.”
We oppose revoking the #KeystoneXL pipeline permit. This is a politically motivated decision that is not grounded in science. It will harm consumers and put thousands of Americans in the building trades out of work. Read @martyjdurbin's full statement. https://t.co/yKF4adv0My
— U.S. Chamber (@USChamber) January 20, 2021
Biden is scheduled to have a phone conversation with Canada’s Prime Minister on Friday. Among the topics will be the status of the Keystone XL pipeline.
