Keystone XL pipeline not dead, U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman says

The process to approve or reject Keystone XL pipeline​ is moving ahead, and no decision has been made​, according to U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman.

In an interview with CBC News Network’s Power & Politics, Heyman said no one should read anything to the contrary from President Barack Obama’s remarks in his state of the union address Monday night. The White House has said the president will veto legislation to fast-track approval for the project that is now being debated, but Heyman insists the project is still very much in play.

Pipeline process sits in the State Department

“The process sits in the State Department. It’s moving ahead and recently we have notified — just this last week — each of the government’s agencies to come back with their commentary by Feb. 2,” he told host Evan Solomon. “So the process is moving ahead and I think what the president has made clear is that the process is sitting in the executive branch, and that’s why he’s going to veto this. Keystone is not dead.”

During his second-last state of the union address last night, Obama garnered a standing ovation when he referred to the controversial project, though not by name.

“Let's set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. Let's pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that can create more than 30 times as many jobs per year and make this country stronger for decades to come,” he said during his televised prime-time speech to the nation.

President pushes for infrastructure bill

But Heyman said the president was sending a strong signal that he wants an infrastructure bill from Congress that would stimulate growth, create jobs and “help middle America.”

“It’s the right thing to do for the economy long-term,” he said.

The ambassador also spoke about the coalition’s military mission against ISIS, but declined to divulge information about whether American special forces have engaged in combat with militants on the ground.

Perimeter security plan

Heyman said the fight against terror requires tighter collaboration between Canada and the U.S. to secure the North American perimeter, including even more information-sharing than was put into practice following the Sept. 11 attacks.

“When we think about perimeter security, we need to be able to share info with each other about threats that may threaten either of us,” he said, adding there must be a balance with protection of personal privacy rights.

“I think the world’s much more complex than it used to be and the kind of sharing that we need is more complicated, and more detailed than ever before. And so we may need ever more information-sharing to protect each other.”