During the annual Pacific Northwest Economic Region Summit in Whistler, B.C., Canada’s US Ambassador Gary Doer stated that there is no proof, be it environmental, economic, safety or scientific, that construction work on Keystone XL should not go ahead. Doer said that all the evidence supports a favourable decision by the US government for the controversial pipeline.
According to Doer, the decision-making delays are beginning to damage the US economy. State officials in Minnesota are concerned about the lack of rail cars to transport their products to markets, as oil shipments by rail in the US are up 600% and there is a shortage of cars. Furthermore, Doer noted that shipping oil by rail is more expensive and increases both gas emissions and the risk of spills.
If approved, Keystone would transport crude oil from Canada and the Northern Plains to refineries on the Gulf Coast, relieving overcapacity in Alberta, the Midwest and Canada.
Edited from various sources by Rosalie Starling