By Barrie McKenna
To the left, the Alberta Oil Sands. Who in their right mind would want to blight land like this?
It might be (click here) the lofty price of oil, the emergence of China as a voracious consumer of a scarce resource, or perhaps the fly fishing.
But U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney is coming to Alberta, and a visit to the oil sands is high on his agenda. The trip slated for next month is being billed as a mix of business and pleasure for the former oil executive and acknowledged White House energy guru.
He's expected to tour one of the major oil sands projects in Fort McMurray, meet Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, speak to a gathering of the conservative Fraser Institute in Calgary, and steal away to an undisclosed location for a little hunting and fishing, according to Canadian and U.S. officials.
Mr. Cheney would be the highest-ranking member of the Bush administration to make a pilgrimage to the oil sands -- home to the largest reserves of crude outside Saudi Arabia.
U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow was there in early July at the invitation of Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, and returned apparently impressed by the scope of existing production and its potential for the future. Officials are also trying to convince U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to come have a look....
And don't think for one minute Trump's focus on Venezuela is about humanitarian aide. Even in 2005, Venezuela was being coveted for oil.
..."The importance to us of Canada and Venezuela is that they are short-haul suppliers," he said. "The infrastructure is there, the supplies are there and it's easy to ship in a matter of days, not weeks."...
