REGINA -- The Saskatchewan government says it will be filing an amicus brief in support of U.S. states fighting President Joe Biden’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline.

According to a press release, 21 states – including Texas and Montana – began litigation against the Biden administration in March 2021 after the president signed an Executive Order cancelling the permit for the pipeline in January.

"While we have no desire to wade into American politics, we must take every opportunity we can to stand up for Saskatchewan's economy," Minister of Justice and Attorney General Gordon Wyant said in a statement.

Wyant said Montana’s attorney general asked the Saskatchewan government to participate in the litigation by providing information on the economic impact of the pipeline’s cancellation on the province.

The province said it will hire an American law firm to prepare and file the amicus brief, which the government said is similar to filing intervenor status in Canadian courts.

Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili said while he thinks the pipeline is an important project that’s been cancelled, he question the impact the province could have on the outcome of the legal challenge.

“I’d really want to hear a legal expert’s opinion on that before throwing a lot of dollars behind it, just as we’ve seen them throw hundreds of thousands of dollars behind an ultimately failed Supreme Court challenge,” said Meili, referring to the Supreme Court challenge of the carbon tax. 

The Keystone XL pipeline was first proposed in 2008. It would start in Alberta and pass through Saskatchewan before crossing the Saskatchewan-Montana border and delivering oil to refineries in Texas.