G&M: Kings NHL Coach Sutter Plans to Talk Keystone with Obama

To get a sense of just how how much more Keystone penetrates the Canadian public relative to the American public, The Globe and Mail reports that N.H.L. Coach Darryl Sutter will push Obama on Keystone when he and his Stanley Cup-winning team are hosted by the White House today.

Keystone is not without controversy:  passionate debate continues in Canada and the United States.

But if the White House passes on Keystone, the Canadian-U.S. bilatteral relationship is going to take a hit.

From the article:

The President of the United States is about to get an earful on the Keystone XL pipeline from an unexpected source: the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings.

Darryl Sutter – who is also the owner of a 3,000-acre ranch near Viking, Alta. – plans to weigh in on the pipeline debate when Barack Obama plays host to the reigning Stanley Cup champions on Tuesday.

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“Absolutely,” he said. “It’s 20 feet underground. How can we not want to keep North America [energy self-sufficient]? Why does the border have to separate that? It doesn’t make sense. For sure, I’m going to ask him.”

Canadian governments are engaged in an all-out effort to secure approval for the pipeline. This month, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall visited U.S. lawmakers and industry leaders in Chicago, Houston and Washington.