Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall is calling U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to advance construction of the Keystone XL pipeline a win for energy industries and consumers.
On Tuesday, Trump approved the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines. The projects were previously blocked by the Obama administration. Former President Barack Obama stopped the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in 2015, saying it would undercut the country’s efforts to confirm a global climate change deal.
READ MORE: Donald Trump signs orders approving Keystone, Dakota pipelines
In a statement released Tuesday, Wall called Trump’s decision “a win for both our countries’ energy industries, for energy consumers and for energy security.”
“I have said before that if Keystone had been judged on its merits and on the facts – it would have been approved years ago,” Wall said in the statement.
Wall said the decision will help lower the price differential Canada receives for its oil and will help free up capacity on railways for moving other projects.
WATCH: Donald Trump signs orders approving Keystone, Dakota pipelines
He also suggested that the project will result in about 2,200 jobs, and building the 530 kilometres of the Keystone XL in Alberta and Saskatchewan will cost approximately $1.2 billion.
Wall said the pipeline is estimated bring in an additional $1.3 million a year in property taxes for the province, along with $3.5 million in Alberta.
The project could also be good news for Evraz, a steelmaker based in Regina. According to Wall, the company had been working on the Keystone project before it was shut down and is optimistic it will be involved again.
The Saskatchewan NDP said it also welcomed the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline but stressed the provincial government was mismanaging pipelines, referencing the latest oil spill near Stoughton, Sask. and the Husky oil spill last July.
“Pipelines are the safest way to transport our oil to market but, in contrast to the Alberta government’s success in getting new expansions approved, the Sask. Party’s refusal to be transparent about inspections of the pipelines we do have and failure to keep the public informed of any problems is striking,” NDP Environment Critic Cathy Sproule said in a statement.
The NDP said to ensure both success and sustainability, the province needs a government that will support the resource sector while also protecting air, water and land.
However, the NDP did agree with the Saskatchewan government on the fact that the pipeline would create jobs, support the local steel industry and provide more provincial revenue.
The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would run from Alberta to Nebraska, before connecting to existing lines running to U.S. refineries on the Gulf Coast.
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