Canada Shops Its Keystone XL Oil to China

Update

Canada's reasoned approach to this whole debacle (link here): 

"Put all our antagonisms behind us." Pragmatic, business-like approach

"U.S. demand is declining."  US influence is declining

"Asia's star is rising and it will dominate the 21st Century. We can guarantee national prosperity for a long time to come by supplying them with the energy that they need."  Screw the US

She said governments need to listen to environmental groups and First Nations, and not "shy away from criticism and disagreement." Alberta's premier said the environmental management systems developed in Canada, for intensive resource extraction like the oilsands, should be viewed as the world standard. "We should demand that our competitors are held to the same level of transparency and accountability."  Level playing field -- oilsands extraction ain't killing any whooping cranes or desert tortoises

Original Post

Link here.

This entire thing is incredibly stupid, the more one learns.

Mr. Harper, attending the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Honolulu on Sunday, repeated Canadian officials' disappointment at the decision, and he told reporters he remained optimistic the project "will eventually go ahead, because it makes eminent sense."

Canadian officials have said in the past that they would seek out other markets, particularly Asian ones, if the U.S. didn't approve the Keystone project. A separate line that would send crude westward to the Canadian Pacific coast, where it could be shipped to Asia by sea, is currently going through Canadian regulatory approval.

But Mr. Harper's language in Hawaii was particularly blunt.

"This does underscore the necessity of Canada making sure that we are able to access Asia markets for our energy products," Mr. Harper told reporters in Honolulu, according to a transcript provided by his office. "And that will be an important priority of our government going forward." Mr. Harper said he made that point in a meeting the day before with Chinese president Hu Jintao.

The Keystone decision comes as the latest in a string of irritants that have sparked friction between the U.S. and Canada, its largest trading partner.

Earlier this year, the White House reintroduced controversial "Buy America" provisions in proposed job-creating legislation that potentially shuts out Canadian firms from participating in government-funded infrastructure projects. Canada fought for the better part of a year to get similar provisions removed from an earlier Washington stimulus plan.

The White House then signed into law a U.S.-Colombia free-trade pact. That pact, which Canada wasn't a party to, included an unusual surcharge in its fine print on U.S.-bound Canadian and Mexican travelers. The charge was designed to recoup revenue lost from the elimination of tariffs on Colombian goods, and it angered some Canadian politicians.

The comments at the link are as interesting as the story.

At least we know who to blame this time when price of gasoline goes up, as it will next summer.

A $7 billion, shovel-ready project that would have put thousands of Americans back to work.

I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E.

And all those railroad tankers carrying oil across the entire Nebraska state, day in and day out.