China’s ambassador to Canada Zhang Junsai (L) meets with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa January 11, 2012. (REUTERS/Patrick Doyle)
The Keystone Pipeline project was expected to create tens of thousands of high paying jobs in the oil industry. The project itself would create 20,000 construction jobs.
But it was just a big pipe dream.
(Bob McCarty)
Barack Obama refused to approve the Keystone project in 2011 despite record unemployment and record gas prices last year in the United States.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced this week that he is traveling to China to discuss selling oil to the nation’s second largest trading partner.
Canada.com reported:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is heading to China next month for his second official visit, as his government looks to boost bilateral trade and ship more energy products to the Asian powerhouse.
Business leaders and political observers say the China trip is important for future trade deals, demonstrates a warming in Sino-Canadian relations and could allow Harper to meet with the new, incoming Chinese leadership…
…Harper responded: “that’s our mutual wish,” adding that he’s looking forward to the visit and that he has always had “good, vigorous conversations” with the Chinese president and premier.
China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, behind only the United States, and a key customer for Canadian natural resources and agricultural products.
State-owned Chinese oil and gas companies already have invested billions of dollars in Alberta’s oilsands to help feed the country’s insatiable energy appetite.
The Harper government is looking to increase petroleum exports to China, but those hopes are very much pinned on the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project currently under review by the National Energy Board.
