Work with and learn from Canada

The Gazette Editorial Board

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Canada Consul General Martin Loken came loaded with information for his visit to Cedar Rapids on Monday. One of the key missions of his office is to promote Canadian products and culture, and keep the Canada-U.S. partnership strong.

Clearly, the partnership with our neighbor is mutually beneficial. Each country is the other's largest customer for exports. We cooperate on matters of national security and are close allies.

The Iowa-Canada link also is huge. Our state annually imports about $3 billion of goods from Canada, one-fourth of it energy and mostly natural gas. In turn, Canada is Iowa's largest market: $3.2 billion a year, mostly agricultural products, industrial and farm machinery, and refrigeration equipment. About 87,000 Iowa jobs are linked to trade with Canada.

It's a partnership to be appreciated and nurtured wherever it makes sense for both of us.

All of which doesn't mean there won't ever be bumps in the two-way road. The biggest bump right now is the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline that TransCanada wants to build to ship heavy crude oil from oil sands in Alberta to Texas refineries. U.S. supporters cite the thousands of American jobs it would create while reducing U.S. reliance on imported oil from countries that are less stable and less friendly.

Opponents point to environmental risks, primarily carbon emissions from the oil sands production and the danger of pipeline leaks, especially into Nebraska's Ogallala Aquifer, a major water resource. Republican Gov. Dave Heineman recently signed into law bills that reroute the Keystone XL pipeline away from the aquifer and ecologically sensitive Sandhills region and launch a new environmental study.

That move came soon after the Obama administration put a hold on the pipeline permit until 2013.

As long as the U.S. continues to import oil, we think it's wise to get more of it from Canada, already our largest supplier and more dependable than the OPEC nations. The Keystone XL pipeline could help reduce our reliance on unfriendly sources, as well as offer much-needed transportation capacity to the booming Bakken oil fields in northwest North Dakota.

At the same time, our national policy should support expanding alternative, cleaner sources to balance our energy needs with environmental threats. Our best partner is demonstrating such an effort. Already a huge hydroelectric generator, Canada's wind energy capacity has expanded rapidly in recent years, averaging 30 percent growth annually. A 5 percent ethanol mandate is in place for fuel. Canada is a global leader in hydrogen and fuel-cell industry. Extensive solar and geothermal potential is being developed.

It's a balancing act that can serve the best interests of both partners.

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