The future of the Keystone pipeline

TransCanada’s controversial Keystone pipeline, which if completed would ship oil more than 1,700 miles from Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries, has faced intense criticism from environmentalists and landowners. It's also created a deep rupture between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department., which is in charge of reviewing the project.

Russell Girling, President and CEO of TransCanada, tells BNN he is confident the project will be approved.

“The project makes economic sense for both Canada and the United States…it creates jobs, provides energy security and at the end of the day has positive impacts for the environment relative to the alternatives to importing oil into the United States,” he says.

Girling believes opponenents of the pipeline have a much bigger bone to pick: the Canadian oil sands.

“The real issue here is those opposed to the Canadian oil sands believe that by delaying or denying this permit somehow they will slowdown the development of Canadian oil sands,” he says. “That’s an unrealistic expectation—the Canadian oil sands will get developed, irrespective of this pipeline.”