Excerpted from John Ivison National Post February 3, 2011 Egypt crisis opens door for oil sands
Colin Robertson, a former diplomat who is now vice-president at the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, said Mr. Harper has to guarantee access to make it worthwhile. “It has to be big to be in Canada’s interests,” he said.
There is a large “green protectionist” lobby in the United States that considers the oil sands “dirty oil” that should be hit with a tax at the border to discourage its use. One bill, currently marooned in Congress, provides for a “border tax adjustment” for U.S. imports, based on carbon intensity.
A loophole in the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement allows either country to impose tariffs on the other for health or environmental reasons. But, with a line being drawn around the North American continent in terms of security, and Canada already committed to harmonizing its carbon-reduction strategy with the United States, Mr. Harper could convincingly argue there should now be a common environmental standard for the two countries.