OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's trip to China this week will be getting a lot of attention -- especially from Republicans in the United States who are trying to secure access to Alberta's oil.
A Republican Senator has introduced a bill that would give Congress the power to approve the Keystone XL project, taking that decision out of the president's hands.
Any further delay could jeopardize Canada-U.S. relations as well as the United States' chances of moving away from Middle Eastern oil, said North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, who introduced the bill.
The pipeline project has become a wedge issue in this highly-competitive election year, with Republicans framing it as an investment that would create thousands of jobs.
"Any way you look at this project, it needs to go forward," Hoeven said during an appearance on The West Block with Tom Clark. "We need these jobs with what's going on in our economy."
U.S. president Barack Obama has for some time been trying to push any decision on the pipeline until after the election.
In November, after weighing potential environmental impacts in Nebraska, Obama delayed the decision when he said he wanted to see an alternate route proposed.
That delay meant it would be 2013 – after all the votes were counted and the president elected -- by the time an alternate route could be designed, proposed and evaluated.
Republicans, convinced Keystone XL will create jobs, allow the United States to distance itself from Middle East oil and stimulate the economy, imposed a Feb. 21 deadline on the president.
Finally, Obama outright rejected the proposal last month, saying the February deadline didn't allow enough time to mull the considerable concerns.
Harper has said Canada will look for other countries interested in its oil. One potential market is Asia.
If Hoeven's bill passes, construction on the pipeline could start immediately -- but without that contentious segment crossing Nebraska.
That would only go forward once the state approved an alternate route.
If his bill doesn't pass, the results could be destructive, the Senator said.
"Together we can provide more energy security for this country, as well as for Canada, as you continue to develop more of this oil," he said.
With Harper in China this week, Hoeven said he has one message for him:
"We want to do business with Canada, and we want that oil in the United States. We need it."
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