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Similarly, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters chief executive Dennis Darby said the project needed “a strong show of support from the federal government” because the cancelled pipeline would have negative implications for business across Canada.
“It’s not just about Alberta. It’s about manufacturers that make pipes, machines, tires. We need to make sure that’s not lost,” he said.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney also called on Trudeau to “send a clear message” to Biden on the need for the pipeline.
“I do believe it’s important that in the next 48 hours that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reach out directly to the U.S. administration,” he said.
Kenney said his government is prepared to sue the U.S. to, at a minimum, recover costs of the project that has been under construction since last spring should Biden cancel its permits this week.
“We believe that we have very strong arguments for legal recourse for damages incurred,” he said. “I believe this is without precedent for an American administration to retroactively seek to cancel a piece of infrastructure, a border crossing, that already exists.”
The potential to recover the money Alberta has lost on this project is fairly small because TC Energy’s previous attempt to sue the U.S. were difficult, said Richard Masson, executive fellow at the University of Calgary School of Public Policy.
“To me, it seems like the billion and a half dollars that has mostly been invested is pretty much at risk,” he said, adding that the additional $6-billion loan guarantee is likely not lost for the provincial government yet, because construction work would halt likely halt Wednesday before those dollars are spent.
TC Energy did not respond to a request for comment Monday on how many people are currently working on the Keystone XL project in the U.S.
A company website shows pump stations and pipe yards were built in Montana and South Dakota last year and some ground work was carried out in Nebraska for the Keystone XL project. TC Energy also built the section of the pipeline that crosses the Saskatchewan/Montana border last year.
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