US senators tilt to oil sands

While Canadian politicians, environmentalists, aboriginal leaders, oil industry executives and the news media worked themselves into a twist over the whistle-stop visit to the oil sands by movie director James Cameron, a far more momentous event occurred in Washington, D.C.

In fact, outside of Canada, Cameron’s visit attracted only scattered attention.

By any standards, two United States Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and Saxby Chambliss, stole whatever thunder Cameron might have hoped to attract.

Having toured the oil sands a few days before Cameron’s arrival and delivered a glowing assessment of the resource’s importance to U.S. energy security, they followed up by introducing legislation that would ensure U.S. government agencies could purchase fuel derived from the oil sands.

The Oil Sands Energy Security Act would repeal a 2007 U.S. energy law barring federal agencies from using fuels that generate more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil-based products.

Gary Mar, who heads the Alberta government’s office in the U.S. capital, said passage of the bill would allow an unrestricted flow of oil sands-sourced products into those agencies, arguing that was proof the Alberta government’s “advocacy” approach was working.

“We now have a bill that gives us a strong indication people are understanding our message about what the oil sands are and what they are not,” Mar said, crediting Premier Ed Stelmach with wielding a “great deal” of influence in meetings with U.S. legislators.

—Gary Park