US politics to blame for Keystone pipeline delays, Gary Doer fires at … – Financial Post

May 22, 2014

The Keystone XL debacle with the United States has drawn plenty of second guessing of late that it’s all Canada’s fault — governments pushing too hard on behalf of the oil industry for approval in the U.S. and doing too little to ingratiate themselves to Barack Obama by getting tough on greenhouse emissions from the sector.

The man on the front lines of campaign, Canadian ambassador to the United States Gary Doer, couldn’t disagree more.

“People say, ‘If you would have done more on regulations, you would then get an answer’,” he said in an interview in Calgary. “If that was true, we would have.”

Far from holding back, Canada has offered at every opportunity to work with the U.S. on joint oil and gas regulations — including a coordinated approach to greenhouse gas emissions reductions, Mr. Doer said.

The U.S. response to Canada’s overtures?

“Great idea, we should get back to you,” Mr. Doer said.