OTTAWA – Former United States ambassadors to Canada say the Keystone XL pipeline debate will complicate Bruce Heyman’s confirmation as the next top U.S. envoy to Canada and that the process could delay his posting for several months.
One former ambassador also cautions that Canada-U.S. relations will be damaged if the Obama administration rejects the Keystone XL oilsands pipeline.
With David Jacobson, the most recent envoy, having departed Ottawa in early July, the position could be left vacant for half a year or longer at a critical time in Canada-U.S. relations.
Former American ambassador Gordon Giffin, who served under Bill Clinton, says the Keystone project is clearly at the top of Canada-U.S. relations and that it will almost certainly be an issue leading up to and during Heyman’s Senate confirmation hearing.
Giffin said the confirmation process in the Senate will be more complex than normal, mostly because of the timing of the appointment and sensitivity of the pipeline project.
“The Keystone issue, to put it mildly, will complicate his confirmation process. But ultimately, that will be resolved and he’ll get confirmed,” Giffin said in an interview with Postmedia News.
“Keystone is at the top of everybody’s mind. It has taken on proportions because of the debate in the United States, frankly, that make it seem as if it’s a bigger issue than it really is.”
U.S. President Barack Obama announced Thursday he will nominate Heyman, a political fundraiser and businessman from Chicago, to be the new American ambassador to Canada. (His nomination was announced in the same release in which Obama named his next ambassador for Colombia.)
Heyman, a personal friend of Obama, has been a partner at the investment firm of Goldman Sachs in Chicago. His appointment must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Giffin believes Heyman is a very good choice because of his close ties to Obama and senior officials in the administration.
Canadians shouldn’t think twice about the delay in announcing the selection, he said, arguing there’s “absolutely no correlation” between when an ambassador is nominated and the importance of the country he is going to.
David Wilkins, former ambassador to Canada under George W. Bush, said the confirmation process, when all goes well, can take anywhere from two or three months to five or six months.
“Normally a confirmation of a U.S. ambassador to Canada usually goes fairly smoothly, but Keystone certainly may be an issue that he’s asked about during the confirmation hearing,” Wilkins said in an interview.
“I don’t foresee it blocking the confirmation process, but it certainly might come up.”
He said the feedback an ambassador can give the White House is “invaluable” – especially someone who has the ear of the president – so it’s important for the relationship that Heyman be on the ground as soon as possible.
The Keystone XL project “has sucked the oxygen out of the room,” Wilkins said, and that if it is rejected by the Obama administration, it will erode Canada-U.S. ties.
“If it’s turned down, I think it will damage the relationship. How much remains to be seen,” he said.
The pipeline’s fate rests with Obama, who is now expected to announce a decision in 2014.
But Danielle Droitsch, director of the Canada Project for the Washington-based Natural Resources Defense Council, said the Harper government’s environmental record has caused problems in the Canada-U.S. relationship, regardless of the decision on the pipeline. Canada’s lacklustre climate record is being noticed internationally, she said, and is now playing a role in cross-border ties.
“Prime Minister Harper has created a challenging situation for the U.S. government by not acting aggressively on climate,” she said. “There is a lot of attention on Canada’s climate and environmental record in Washington. Harper hasn’t helped his case by arguing for Keystone XL.”
The Conservative government is unfortunately linking the Canada-U.S. relationship to a decision on Keystone, she said, when it’s much more complex and includes a number of important files.
“It’s shortsighted to reduce the relationship to a single decision. That’s a politicized reaction,” she said.
The proposed $5.3-billion pipeline would transport 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta’s oilsands and the Bakken formation in North Dakota to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
But the project has become a lightning rod of criticism for environmental groups, celebrities and concerned citizens who say it will increase American reliance on “dirty oil” and increase greenhouse gas emissions tied to global warming.
Twitter.com/jasonfekete
Related articles
- Obama nominates Chicago businessman Bruce Heyman as new ambassador to Canada (vancouversun.com)
- Stephen Harper hoping to garner support for pipeline projects in coming weeks (o.canada.com)
- John Manley presses Harper government on Canada-EU free trade talks (o.canada.com)
- White House says Obama to nominate investment banker Heyman as Cdn ambassador (calgaryherald.com)
- Keystone XL lobbying trip to Washington overshadowed by Syria crisis (o.canada.com)
