Question Period Note: ENBRIDGE LINE 5

Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline, which carries Canadian oil from Superior, Wisconsin, through the water of the Great Lakes at the Straits of Mackinac to Sarnia, Ontario, is a concern in Michigan.
On November 13, 2020, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that the state is revoking Enbridge’s 1953 authorization (its ‘easement’) to operate Line 5 through the Straits of Mackinac. The state is citing alleged violations of the easement agreement by Enbridge in operating the dual Line 5 pipelines over the years, which Michigan sees as an unreasonable oil spill risk, and is giving the company 180 days to cease operations (to May 12). Enbridge is fighting the shutdown notice in federal court claiming the notice is in violation of federal laws and the Canada-US pipeline treaty. Enbridge is also fighting other parallel lawsuits that Michigan filed in state court.

• Pipeline safety is a top concern on both sides of the border.
• Our government understands the importance of Line 5 to the oil and gas sector and its workers. We support the continued safe operation of Enbridge’s Line 5, which is a critical economic and energy security link between Canada and the United States, delivering feedstock to refineries in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, as well as Eastern Canada.
• Enbridge’s Line 5 has safely operated at the Straits of Mackinac for over 65 years.
• The people of northern Michigan rely on Line 5 to heat their homes and businesses, and to deliver the oil that the state’s refineries need to produce transportation fuel.
• Canada will continue to engage with the State of Michigan and the Governor’s administration in support of the continued safe operation of Line 5.
If pressed on supply chains:
• Energy security and ensuring everyone has safe, reliable, and affordable access to the fuel they need to heat their homes and businesses is of great importance to the Government of Canada.
• Line 5 is a significant crude oil and natural gas liquids supply source for the Sarnia refinery and petrochemical complex, as well as to refineries in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
• This is why we continue to do the hard work necessary to secure reliable supply chains such as this one, by safely enhancing pipeline capacity to get our resources to both domestic and international markets, ensuring this sector continues to be a source of good middle-class jobs for Canadians.
If pressed on safety of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac:
• Enbridge continues to monitor Line 5 from a monitoring centre around the clock, supplemented with checks by remotely operated vehicles and human divers at regular intervals.
If pressed on the Canada-US Transit Pipeline Treaty:
• We are aware of the 1977 Treaty, and its provisions and obligations.
• Line 5 continues to operate safely.
• Line 5 is the object of litigation in the US at both federal and state levels. We are monitoring this situation closely.

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