Premier Notley responds to US approval of Keystone XL pipeline:
Our government welcomes news that the United States has taken an important step toward moving forward with the Keystone XL Pipeline.
The United States is an extremely valuable customer of ours, and any step that allows us to better support the needs of our largest customer is good news.
This project is going to create good jobs here in Alberta. And that’s my focus – support our workers, create good jobs, and diversify our economy.
More energy workers at our rural hotels is a good thing.
More equipment out in the field is a good thing.
Busier restaurants and hardware stores across Alberta is a good thing.
While discussions around Keystone XL progress, we are focused on building Canadian pipelines to Canadian tidewater.
As any small business owner will tell you, you can’t only have one customer. You have got to diversify.
While we value the United States as a key trading partner, the world is changing fast.
We need to exert more control over our own future, especially our energy future.
Getting a Canadian pipeline built to Canadian tidewater is the best way for our world-class energy producers to sell our oil at world-class prices on the global market.
And that’s what we want – a better deal for our industry, for our economy, and for the future stability of our economy.
We welcome this news from the United States. We will support our energy companies however we can to make sure this pipeline moves forward, because at the end of the day, it’s about making sure that average families and the workers of our province have good jobs.