Joe Oliver: While Canada’s PM posed for selfies, John Kerry slapped us in the face

Mercifully, Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr wasn’t in Washington when Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. doesn’t need anymore Canadian pipelines. You see, unlike Justin Trudeau’s in-laws, Carr didn’t result in the cut for the official visit with the Pm, although the U.S. trades more resources with Canada than any other country in the world undoubtedly. That’s no real surprise, since energy was a forbidden subject between the two leaders, absorbed because they apparently are with climatic change.

I say apparently, because America recently became the largest producer of oil in the world because of the fracking revolution. (Remember fracking? That’s the wealth-creating technology that several “have not” provinces imposed a moratorium on in their jurisdictions, but I digress.) Furthermore, obama recently lifted a 40-year ban on exports of domestic oil. So when the thing is President Obama smiling, it could relate to the incredible development in oil production in his country.

Any observer with a semblance of objectivity would agree that Obama’s rejection from the Keystone XL pipeline involved domestic politics, symbolism and the need to burnish an environmentally friendly legacy over the jobs, economic growth and national security the pipeline might have promoted.

Still, for that secretary of state to double down and cite the pipelines Americans have built as a reason to reject Canadian pipelines is unusually brazen. “We have some 300 pipelines, it’s not as if we’re pipeline-less,” he told the CBC a week ago. So not only is Keystone dead, but no other pipeline from Canada is welcome. Discuss chutzpah. Canadian oil has been crucial for his country’s economy and continues to be. However he’s erecting a political wall to block more oil pipelines, although trains and trucks are welcome, irrespective of their cargo. Kerry expresses worry about global warming, yet their own State Department said building Keystone could be less risky and convey fewer emissions than the alternative, which is rail.

Related

More pain for Canada’s natural gas producers: U.S. drillers prepared to pounce and reverse flow northwardWhile Trudeau got attention, it’s Obama who ran the climate change victory lapJoe Oliver: How Justin Trudeau can avoid a historic energy blunder

Why would Kerry suddenly declare this when the prime minister is within town with an official visit? Well, Keystone was publicly turned down only month following the Liberal government was sworn in, therefore the Obama administration isn’t too fussed about our new government’s feelings. Trudeau wasn’t going to respond to yet another slap when confronted with Canada’s national interest. Just pass the canaps and pose for an additional selfie.

The honour of an official visit for any prime minister at work less than five months is similar to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Obama, based on nominations that closed 12 days after he became president. Although the process took another year, lots of people felt it was awarded as an inducement for future behaviour – to encourage him to complete the things the Nobel Committee considered worth the prize. Trudeau’s invitation towards the White House was partly about sending an identical message: Keep smiling and complement to get along. It was also an award for being another “progressive” who talks the talk on climate, plus an chance of the president to make use of their joint press conference to hammer the Republican Party and it is leading candidate.

When he was prime minister, Stephen Harper hosted Obama in Ottawa for that president’s first foreign trip, and through almost a decade of Conservative government our countries had very close bilateral working relationships at each level. So one must ask why Obama did not reciprocate and enable Harper to Washington. Perhaps Harper’s support for Keystone would be a factor. After the State Department, with primary regulatory responsibility, effectively agreed with Harper around the facts and the science of Keystone, an official visit might have become too uncomfortable for the president. Sometimes, there is a price for publicly defending Canada’s interests.

Kerry’s remarks might not cause a media storm, anymore than Trudeau’s observation that Americans should be more aware of what’s happening in the world. A Washington honeymoon wasn’t any place for uncomfortable questions. However the Liberals cannot avoid a harsh reality: Kerry slammed the doorway shut on new Canadian pipelines in to the U.S. Expect a change in direction from a new administration may prove elusive. Most polls indicate Donald Trump won’t win the presidency. Hillary Clinton, who had supported Keystone, is now opposed. And regardless, the American marketplace is not checking up on our increasing production. That adds urgency to approve pipelines to ship our resources to Eastern Canada and foreign markets.

Jim Carr continues to be waiting in Ottawa for the unrequited love-in to end and also the partygoers to come back. The real work should start. I am rooting for that cabinet underdog. Hope springs eternal.

Joe Oliver may be the former minister of finance and former minister of natural resources.