Pelosi to meet with Canadian officials over tar sands

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach on Tuesday said he plans to appeal to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) “sense of reason” when the two meet with other leaders in Canada Wednesday about his province’s oil-sands development.
 
Pelosi will be in Ottawa, Canada, to attend a G8 Speakers’ Conference that starts Thursday. But she will also have a dinner meeting Wednesday with Stelmach, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Quebec Premier Jean Charest on energy and environmental issues, including oil sands. “The purpose of the meeting is get the energy-producing premiers together over dinner,” Stelmach told reporters. “Our goal there is to appeal to her sense of reason.”

This, he said, includes having “an opportunity to sit down with Ms. Pelosi and talk about what has been accomplished with the oil sands and how we’re going to overcome any of the environmental challenges that come with any natural resource extraction.”
 
He added, “There are risks and we want to talk about the policies that we have in place” to safeguard air and water quality and monitor adverse environmental effects.
 
He also said he will make the arguments that oil sands development creates jobs both in Canada and the U.S., strengthens the energy security of the U.S. and proceeds from the development help health and education programs in Alberta and across Canada.
 
Pelosi in a statement Tuesday said, “We come to learn and listen at a time where the debate in Canada continues over oil sands and the future of energy security in North America.”
 
Pelosi will be accompanied by House Energy Independence and Global Warming Select Committee Chairman Edward Markey (D-Calif.) in meetings with Canadian officials, environmentalists and industry officials regarding energy security and other related issues. The select committee's ranking Republican — Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (Wis.) — was going to attend but is unable to, according to Pelosi’s statement.

Canada is the largest supplier of oil to the U.S. and a major share comes from the oil sands. But oil sands are very energy-intensive to produce and create more greenhouse gas emissions than many grades of conventional crude oil. 

A proposed pipeline carrying oil sands from Alberta down to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries has been attacked or at least questioned over concerns regarding adverse effects to air, water, migratory birds and wildlife.
 
The State Department in late July announced it was lengthening its review of TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL project following complaints from the Environmental Protection Agency and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) that the department’s draft environmental review was inadequate.
 
Canada is the largest energy provider to the U.S. and also the largest provider of natural gas to Pelosi’s home state of California. “She may be aware of it, maybe not, it’s an opportunity to chat,” Stelmach said.
 
Wednesday’s dinner is the first face-to-face sit-down between Pelosi and Stelmach and was arranged by the U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson.