Keystone 'sucked all the oxygen' out of Canada-U.S. relationship

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Jun 28, 2010
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Keystone 'sucked all the oxygen' out of Canada-U.S. relationship, new ambassador says

Canada's new ambassador to the United States says the relentless focus on the Keystone XL pipeline project has strained Canada-U.S. relations, making it difficult for the two countries to make progress on other major initiatives.

"There's no question that that particular dispute sucked all the oxygen out of the room in terms of the relationship. And you hear that, I'm not just talking about from Canadians and I don't think it's a partisan comment, you hear it from the Americans, too," David MacNaughton said in an interview with Chris Hall on CBC Radio's The House.

MacNaughton, who was a lobbyist before being appointed by Prime Minister Trudeau to the top job in Washington earlier this year, says assigning blame for the diplomatic headache is difficult, but regardless of who is responsible, it has had a measurable impact.

"It definitely was such a focus — and such a contentious focus — that so many of the other things that we do, and should do, day in and day out, kind of got either stalled or put to the back burner," he said. "The reality is, for whatever reason, it sidetracked the relationship."

Keystone 'sucked all the oxygen' out of Canada-U.S. relationship, new ambassador says - Politics - CBC News