Not a good start.
While polls show a huge majority of Canadians are glad to see Joe Biden taking office, it seems the first move of a new Biden Administration will be damaging to this country.
It is being reported in multiple outlets that the Biden Administration plans to cancel the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline on his first day in office.
That decision would effectively kill the pipeline project.
That would also mean a huge loss on the investment made by the Alberta government, in terms of direct spending and loan guarantees. $1.5 billion has been spent so far, and the Alberta government may seek damages.
While this is a terrible start to Canada-US relations as a new US Administration takes office, it is also bad from the perspective of world power.
Authoritarian states like Saudi Arabia and Russia will benefit from the pipeline being cancelled, as it weakens the North American energy sector. Environmental standards and labour laws in Canada and the US are much stronger than in those authoritarian oil-producing states.
Transferring more wealth and power to authoritarian states at the expense of democratic nations is the very last thing the world needs right now.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
