Saskatchewan reacts to Barack Obama's rejection of Keystone XL

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is not pleased with U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. Today the Saskatchewan government sent a release on the benefits of the pipeline, stating that pipeline congestion results in discounted Saskatchewan oil.

Speaking from the White House on Friday, Obama said Keystone "will not serve the national interests of the United States."

Callers on CBC Radio's Blue Sky had other opinions. Michael Fortney from Regina said he agreed with Obama's decision, and said people should move away from fossil fuels.

"You hear a lot of people talking about how this will affect our economy," he said. "As a global society we choose the type of world that we want to create, and if we want to create a world that's moving towards renewable energies we can choose to do that."

Dave Abbey from Saskatoon called to say there might not be a need for the pipeline.

"Demand for fossil fuels is going to go down as the world becomes more concerned about the impact of fossil fuel emissions on the environment," Abbey said. "We probably don't need more pipeline to transport more oil that people might not even want to use."

After Obama rejected the pipeline, Premier Wall released a statement on Facebook.

Earlier this week Wall said delays to the Keystone XL pipeline underscore the need for one through Canada, specifically Energy East.