Canada's new environment minister, Leona Aglukkaq, assumes the role at a critical time, with decisions due on the Keystone XL pipeline, new domestic pipelines, oil sands developments, and regulation of the oil and gas sector's greenhouse gas emissions. But her biggest challenge may be credibility, particularly with Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver retaining the Cabinet portfolio that has been the government's primary focus in recent years. Industry groups welcomed Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to keep Oliver in the natural resources role in a July 15 Cabinet shuffle as confirming the government's commitment to its Responsible Resource Development initiative, which aims to streamline approvals while protecting the environment, and to Keystone XL in particular. Environmental groups warn, however, that the government's allowing the economics of developing the oil sands to trump environmental concerns may harm the pipeline's chances of being approved in the United States.
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