<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><a href="http://business.financialpost.com/news/energy/transcanada-corp-moves-forward-with-keystone-xl-nafta-challenge?__lsa=9ba6-847b" class="">http://business.financialpost.com/news/energy/transcanada-corp-moves-forward-with-keystone-xl-nafta-challenge?__lsa=9ba6-847b</a><br class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><h1 class="npStoryTitle" itemprop="headline" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: PostSerifLight, georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; font-size: 40px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">TransCanada Corp moves forward with Keystone XL NAFTA challenge</h1><div class=" npPost npGravatar npRuleLight npBlock" style="padding: 10px 0px 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; border-top-color: rgb(128, 128, 128); border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; font-family: 'helvetica neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">
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<div class="column"><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">TransCanada Corp. made good late Friday on its threat to challenge President Barack Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline,
filing a request for arbitration under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to recoup US$15 billion in damages from
the U.S. government.
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">The Calgary-based pipeline company’s request was made to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in
Washington, D.C., after efforts in recent months to reach an amicable settlement failed.
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">A three-member panel will determine whether TransCanada was treated unfairly when Obama rejected the project last Nov. 6 after
seven years of review. TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper said no date has been set for the proceedings, but his company is
prepared for a lengthy process.</span></p>
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<div class="column"><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">In the 42-page document, TransCanada claims the U.S. government “ultimately denied Keystone’s application, not because of any
concerns over the merits of the pipeline, but because President Obama wanted to prove his administration’s environmental
credentials to a vocal activist constituency that asserted that the pipeline would lead to increased production and consumption of
crude oil and, therefore, significantly increased greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions.”
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">TransCanada further claims that the U.S. administration knew “those assertions were false” and that in fact, “the State Department
had issued five environmental impact statements between 2008 and 2015, all of which concluded that the Keystone XL Pipeline
would not result in a significant increase in GHG emissions. The State Department reiterated that conclusion for a sixth time when it
denied Keystone’s second application in November 2015.”
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">The company said the U.S. delayed its decision for seven years – far longer than average – while claiming that it needed to collect
additional technical information, conduct additional analysis of the environmental impact of the proposal, or allow state-level
procedures regarding the routing of the pipeline to run their course.
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">“Those excuses were arbitrary and contrived,” TransCanada said in the document. “In fact, none of that technical analysis or legal
wrangling was material to the Administration’s final decision. Instead, the rejection was symbolic, and based merely on the desire to
make the U.S. appear strong on climate change.”
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">TransCanada first announced last January its notice of intent to submit a Chapter 11 NAFTA claim and said it was seeking US$15
billion in compensation over the US$8 billion project because it’s been left with billions in worthless assets and because of lost
economic return.
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 13.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">Those excuses were arbitrary and contrived
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">However, TransCanada said Friday a settlement is still possible.
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">In rejecting the pipeline to transport oil from Alberta’s oilsands to Texas refineries, Obama said from the White House last
November: “America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change, and frankly approving this
project would have undercut that global leadership.”
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">The U.S. has never lost a NAFTA challenge, but many believe TransCanada has a strong case.
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">“We have undertaken a careful evaluation of the Administration’s action as it relates to NAFTA and believe there has been a clear
violation of NAFTA in these circumstances,” Cooper said.
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">TransCanada has also sued the U.S. government in a federal court in Houston, arguing Obama exceeded his constitutional authority
in rejecting the project because no president before him ever prohibited the development of a major oil pipeline and no other
president prohibited a cross-border commercial facility to enhance his influence in foreign affairs. The lawsuit is ongoing.
</span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size: 10.000000pt; font-family: 'Georgia'; color: rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)" class="">With the lawsuit, TransCanada is seeking an injunction against the permit’s denial. TransCanada is expected to file its closing brief in
early July and a decision could come before the end of the year.
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