Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he told Americans we will sell our oil to China if the Keystone pipeline doesn’t go through.
Source: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20111219/stephen-harper-year-end-interview-111219/
Well, it’s about time!
With the current US administration so adament they are going to green the planet, their hypocrasy just keeps shining through. They won’t tap their own shale oil sands or drill for their own oil in their own backyard, but gladly take ours, until some lobby group wanting to raise the price of crude oil forced a stop to the pipeline that was to be built.
I say good! We shouldn’t be shipping crude to the US. We should be refining it here in Canada making more jobs for ourselves.
Have we forgotten about the refinery that was supposed to be built in Sombra? Special interest groups in the US put an end to that.
What gets me is we supply the crude yet we pay more for refined gas than the Americans. For decades, the US has been the bully big brother to Canada, telling us what laws they don’t like and what directions we take that they want. Four years ago we were set to legalize the controlled sale of Marijuanna and then the US stepped in and that bill went down the toilet.
Let’s be honest… The US sees us as poor relations. They want to build a border fence spanning all of the distance between our countries for their protection while cancelling the border fence between themselves and Mexico. To me that smacks of political maneuvering.
If I were to advise Mr, Harper, I would suggest telling the Chinese they can have the excess crude we don’t need on condition they build the refineries in Canada. From what I have read and seen of Chinese politics, they would be open to the idea since we have the land space.
Free trade with the US is a pipe dream. I have seen free trade in action in Europe and what we have with the US doesn’t compare.
It’s time we stop giving in to the Americans and start promoting ourselves on the global market with the raw products we have in abundance. I’m sure the steel mills would be happy to reopen even if the company was owned by a Chinese corporation. We need jobs in Canada, which means we need investors who look at long term relations. Europe is in disaster mode, so that leaves Asia.
This list can grow to include actively protecting our fishing grounds and our lumber trade. If the Americans don’t want our goods or want to place limits, its time to find new partners.
I think the US will cave on the pipeline no matter how badly the protesters want it stopped, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I think its time to get out from under the shadow of the United Shakes and strike out on our own!
