Keystone pipeline good for Canada, not U.S., Obama says

As a pro-Keystone XL effort gathered bipartisan steam in Congress, President Barack Obama suggested that the controversial pipeline may be good for Canada but doesn’t offer much to Americans.

The Republican-dominated House of Representatives passed – by a 252-161 vote – a pro-Keystone XL bill intended to force Mr. Obama to approve the Canadian oil export project.

TransCanada Corp. is once again at the centre of an escalating political battle in Washington, as the Congressional Republicans push forward legislation that would approve the Keystone XL pipeline despite the threat of veto from President Barack Obama.

As the Harper government applauded in Ottawa, the Republican-dominated House of Representatives passed legislation Friday that would force approval of the controversial pipeline, which is designed to carry oil sands bitumen to the massive refining hub on the U.S. Gulf Coast.


                                                                                                   Shawn McCarthy, Paul Koring

                                                                                                                                                             OTTAWA and WASHINGTON — The Globe and Mail