- The Washington Times - Tuesday, February 24, 2015

A top Canadian official on Tuesday brushed off President Obama’s veto of legislation approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline, expressing supreme confidence that eventually the White House will sign off on the project.

“This is not a debate between Canada and the US; it’s a debate between the President and the American people, who are supportive of the project. It is not a question of if this project will be approved; it is a matter of when,” said Greg Rickford, Canada’s minister of natural resources. “We will continue to strongly advocate for this job creating project. Keystone XL will create jobs for Canadian and American workers and strengthen energy security in North America. The State Department itself has indicated it can be developed in an environmentally sustainable manner.”

Mr. Obama issued the veto, the third of his presidency, Tuesday afternoon. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said his chamber will vote to override the veto as soon as this week and no later than March 3.

While the measure has bipartisan support, it does not appear to have the necessary two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to override a veto.

• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

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