Canada committed to oil sands

CALGARY, Alberta, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- The Canadian government is working with provincial leaders and the energy industry to ensure oil sands are produced in a responsible way, a minister said.

The Canadian government put its weight behind plans to build the Northern Gateway pipeline to carry so-called tar sands oil from Alberta to the country's west coast. The Northern Gateway project gained momentum after the U.S. government delayed plans for the Keystone XL pipeline to transit Alberta crude to refineries along the southern U.S. coast.

Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent told members of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce that his agency had an "unwavering" commitment to protect the country's environment in a way that also supports economic growth.

Critics of oil sands characterize it as the dirtiest type of oil because it is energy-intensive to produce and it lingers in the environment if spilled.

Kent said the government was looking was ways to reduce emissions from oil sands operations.

"(The ministry) continues to work closely with both Alberta and the oil sands producers to monitor the environment and collect the data required to shape the standards that will ensure this resource is developed in a sustainable, responsible way," he said.

Canada following the U.N. climate change conference in December pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol in favor of a national strategy to reduce emissions by 17 percent of their 2005 levels by 2020.