Prime Minister Harper asks Obama for quick decision on pipeline
As expected, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper did push President Obama for a quick decision to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry tar sands crude from Alberta, Canada to the the Gulf Coast of the United States, during their meeting Friday.
The Vancouver Sun reports:
“„Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a personal pitch Friday for President Barack Obama to support a controversial $7 billion pipeline that could double the amount of Alberta oilsands crude exported to the United States.
“„Harper confirmed he pressed Obama on Calgary-based TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline during the two leaders’ hour-long meeting at the White House.
White House protesters tried to counter that message:
“„Outside the White House on Friday, a small group of environmentalists protested the pipeline by holding up signs depicting states along the Keystone XL route.
“„“What Prime Minister Harper failed to acknowledge is that tarsands oil is highly polluting,” Alex Moore, dirty fuels campaigner at Friends of the Earth U.S., said in a statement. “There are cleaner, safer ways to meet U.S. energy needs than to import this dirty oil from Canada via a dangerous pipeline through America’s heartland.”
