Joe Biden has cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline. That puts Jason Kenney in a very uncomfortable spot. David Climenhaga writes:
It’s been a Biden promise from the get-go. It’s easy to do with the stroke of a pen. It’s devoutly wished for by key segments of his base. And it doesn’t cost the United States anything, fanciful arguments about the economic benefits of the Keystone XL pipeline notwithstanding.
Let it never be asked, “Who could have seen this coming?” Damn nearly everybody who’s been paying attention did.
Kenney's folly is monumental:
Kenney’s crazy bet has to be near the top of the most irresponsible things ever done in Alberta’s history. Will there be a political price to pay for his irresponsibility? Given that history, it’s hard to say.
Keystone XL might’ve had a chance if New Democrat Rachel Notley were still premier… because, social licence.
But Notley isn’t premier, is she? No, it’s Kenney, the politician who excoriated the very idea of seeking social licence for Alberta’s carbo-intensive heavy oil projects.
He called the whole concept of social licence a myth. He called it a failure. He called it a lie.
So what happens now? And what will Justin Trudeau do? The rubber has hit the road.
Image: Next Alberta
