OTTAWA– Liberal Energy and Natural Resources critic David McGuinty made the following statement on the decision by President Barack Obama regarding the Keystone XL pipeline:
“The Liberal Party of Canada supports the sustainable development of our natural resources. Nevertheless, large-scale developments like the Keystone XL pipeline, the oil sands or the Northern Gateway proposal must adhere to the most stringent environmental assessment and review.
In approving these projects federal governments have a unique and crucial responsibility to balance economic development, energy security, environmental and socio-economic factors to arrive at a decision that is in the best interests of their citizens.
In that vein, President Obama made a decision which he feels is in the United States’ national interest. In Canada, we encourage our federal government to develop and adhere to free and open environmental assessment processes that allow for substantive public debate and input from stakeholders, including Aboriginal peoples, as it considers our future economic prosperity.”
