Canada To Keep Keystone XL Issue Alive With White House

 

Far from giving up on the Keystone XL pipeline to the United States, Finance Minister Joe Oliver said on Tuesday Canadawould keep the issue alive with the Obama administration despite a further delay of the U.S. decision on whether to approve it.

Oliver, who promoted the TransCanada Corp crude oil line as natural resources minister before taking over at finance last month, told reporters that the U.S. delay would affect economic growth and jobs on both sides of the border.

He also said it was an issue of national security, pointing out that Venezuela had threatened to cut off oil supplies to the United States five times in five years, and the Russian/Ukraine crisis had shown the vulnerability of Europe to non-reliable sources of energy.

(Reporting by Richard Woodbury; Writing by Randall Palmer and Louise Egan; Editing by Chris Reese)