This March 11, 2020 photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management shows the proposed route of the Keystone XL oil pipeline where it crosses into the U.S. from Canada in Phillips County, Montana. (Al Nash/Bureau of Land Management via AP)
By Rob Gillies
The Canadian company behind the Keystone XL oil pipeline said Wednesday it has suspended work on the pipeline in anticipation of incoming U.S. President Joe Biden revoking its permit.
Biden’s Day One plans included moving to revoke a presidential permit for the pipeline.
The 1,700-mile (2,735-kilometer) pipeline would carry roughly 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
“As a result of the expected revocation of the Presidential Permit, advancement of the project will be suspended,” the Calgary, Alberta-based company said in a statement.
First proposed in 2008, the pipeline has become emblematic of the tensions between economic development and curbing the fossil fuel emissions that are causing climate change. The Obama administration rejected it, but President Donald Trump revived it and has been a strong supporter. Construction already started.
Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, said Canada needs to move on now that Biden has made a decision.
“Of course we’re disappointed. We worked hard over the past number of months trying to make the case for Keystone XL," Hillman told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
“He had made a commitment during his campaign and he lived up to that commitment. I think we have to accept that and move forward.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised Keystone XL as a top priority when he spoke with Biden in a phone call in November. The project is meant to expand critical oil exports for Canada, which has the third-largest oil reserves in the world.
Jason Kenney, premier of the oil-rich province of Alberta, said late Tuesday he urged Trudeau to tell Biden that “rescinding the Keystone XL border crossing permit would damage the Canada-US bilateral relationship.”
Trudeau and Biden are politically aligned and there are expectations for a return to normal relations after four years of Trump, but the pipeline is an early irritant as Biden has long said he would cancel it.
Trudeau has tried to balance the oil industry’s desire for more pipelines with environmentalists’ concerns. He canceled one major pipeline to the Pacific coast from oil-rich Alberta, but approved another and instituted a national carbon tax.
While Donald Trump stated he would be willing to pardon Capitol Hill insurrectionists should he return to the presidency, the January 6 Committee issued subpoenas to 14 individuals who cast bogus electoral votes for the former president in seven states won by Joe Biden in 2020. Molly Jong-Fast, editor-at-large at The Daily Beast, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ongoing congressional investigation. "It is kind of crazy that every time Trump speaks, he kind of confesses a little more of what he was up to, but you really have to have proof," said Jong-Fast.
Natalie Fertig, federal cannabis policy reporter at Politico Pro, joins Cheddar News to discuss a new YouGov poll that looks at how Americans feel about marijuana and politics.
Alex Ward, National Security Reporter at Politico, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss the latest in a looming international threat as Russia continues aggression against Ukraine, in defiance of Western nations.
The recent Virginia and New Jersey elections are making one trend line pretty clear: voters in this climate will vote on education, and it could be a winning tactic for Republicans.
Virginia's race for governor was defined by, as the Republican candidate and eventual winner described it, "school-choice." Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is taking a page out of Governor Youngkin's playbook for his upcoming reelection bid, over-indexing on themes of education. John Kennedy, Florida capital reporter at Gannett, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
North Korea launched its sixth missile test this month, equaling the total number performed in all of 2021. Cheddar News speaks with Bruce Klinger of the Heritage Foundation on why the regime is suddenly ramping up its weapons testing program.
More than 80 lawmakers are calling for President Biden to release a memo outlining the legal pros and cons regarding the president's authority to cancel student loan debt, the total of which sits around $1.75 trillion. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), joined Cheddar to discuss the memo and support the push to forgive student debt that could potentially have a massive positive impact on the U.S. economy. "I think that would be really helpful for all of us to be able to see as we figure out how we can go forward," she said. "It seems like a simple thing to do, and I hope that the administration will release this memo." For her part, Sen. Smith said she believes the president does have the authority to abolish student loan debt.
Dr. Celeste González de Bustamante, professor and director of the Center for Border and Global Journalism at the Univerity of Arizona, and Dr. Jeannine E. Relly, professor and director of Global Initiatives at the Center for Border and Global Journalism at the University of Arizona, join Cheddar News to discuss the recent journalist killings in Mexico.
