CASE WESTERN Conference targets topic of oil reserves

Environmental concerns and job creation are on the agenda for the discussion.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Oil will be among the topics at an international conference in this city, but not Middle East oil.
Canada's Yukon region and neighboring parts of Alaska have vast untapped oil reserves that can lessen American dependency on Middle Eastern resources, said Jennifer Burrill, a student organizer of the Canada-United States Law Institute annual conference at Case Western Reserve University's School of Law.
"Canada has very large oil resources," she said. "This is a country that is one of the United States' best friends and closest neighbor."
The conference, which began Friday and ends today, examines the legal implications of trade between two nations.
The discussion will explore the potential for job creation and environmental concerns.
Other focuses
Other sessions will focus on Cleveland and other Midwestern cities in the Great Lakes region competing with Canada to attract businesses. Regional cooperation between Bellingham, Wash., and Vancouver, B.C., will be the focus of another.
Other regional discussions include the effect of international trade agreements on the Great Lakes' steel industry. The popularity of tariffs among many in the U.S. steel industry and their legal and economic implications on Canada also will be explored.
The Canada-United States Law Institute is based at the Case's law school and Canada's University of Western Ontario.