Canada election does not affect decision on Keystone pipeline -Kerry

WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry said Tuesday that the ousting of the ruling Conservative
Party in Canada's election will not affect his decision on
whether to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline
between the two countries.
Election victor Justin Trudeau of the Liberal party has said
he would repair Canada's relations with the Obama administration
and take stronger measures against climate change. Trudeau, who
defeated Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Monday's election, has
been a supporter of Keystone, however. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12J16L
Kerry, asked at a climate change event in Washington whether
the election result would influence his decision, said that he
wants the State Department's review of the project to get done
quickly. But when asked if that would be "imminent" Kerry said,
"I am not going to use the word."
"It will get done in its appropriate moment but I would like
to see it done as fast as possible," Kerry said.
Kerry is due to give the State Department's final
recommendation to other federal agencies on whether it backs the
proposed pipeline, the last formal step before President Barack
Obama announces the fate of the contentious project.
TransCanada Corporation TRP.TO , the Canadian company
hoping to build the pipeline, first sought the required
Presidential Permit to allow the pipeline cross the border from
Canada to the United States in 2008.
The pipeline would carry synthetic crude oil and diluted
bitumen from Alberta's oil sands to refineries in Illinois and
the Gulf of Mexico coast.
The proposal inspired a wave of environmental activism that
turned Keystone XL into a rallying cry for environmentalists in
the battle over climate change.
The announcement of the State Department decision will
trigger a 48-hour review process during which at least eight
government bodies can respond to the recommendation on whether
building the pipeline from Canada to the United States would be
in the U.S. national interest.
Obama will make the final decision on the project.