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The man on the front lines of campaign, Canadian ambassador to the United States Gary Doer, couldn’t disagree more.

“People say, ‘If you would have done more on regulations, you would then get an answer’,” he said in an interview in Calgary. “If that was true, we would have.”

Far from holding back, Canada has offered at every opportunity to work with the U.S. on joint oil and gas regulations — including a coordinated approach to greenhouse gas emissions reductions, Mr. Doer said.

The U.S. response to Canada’s overtures?

“Great idea, we should get back to you,” Mr. Doer said.

The approach makes sense and is consistent with many other joint initiatives like tougher vehicle emissions standards adopted by the two countries. Canada’s oil and gas competes with that produced in the U.S. for domestic and international customers, while grappling with higher costs, bigger distances that involve additional transportation costs, and tougher environmental regulations than in the U.S., such as on natural gas flaring and land reclamation. Alberta even has a carbon tax.

Much is also done voluntarily, such as projects that won awards from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers at the Responsible Canadian Energy evening attended by Mr. Doer for initiatives like mitigating wildlife impacts, recycling tailings water from oil sands mining to in-situ operations and collaborating with aboriginal communities on oil sands development.