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.
In November 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 it is in violation of federal laws and the Canada-U.S. pipeline treaty. Enbridge is also fighting other parallel lawsuits that Michigan filed in state court.
On January 12, 2021, Enbridge wrote an open letter to the Governor, rejecting Michigan’s demand to shut down Line 5 – noting that it remains in compliance with the easement and with federal pipeline safety regulations.

• 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.
• We know there is much more work to be done, and we remain engaged with all parties to find solutions.
• While the upcoming deadline is an important one, it is by no means the end of this project.

If pressed:
• 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.
• Canada believes that placing Line 5 in a tunnel under the Straits makes a safe pipeline even safer, and has indicated its support for that project to state and federal regulators.
• You will not find any two other countries in the world with their energy sectors as closely linked as Canada and the United States, with over 70 pipelines and 30 transmission lines crisscrossing the border.
If pressed on supply chains:
• Line 5 is a significant crude oil and natural gas liquids supply source for the entire Great Lakes region. It serves industry in both Canada and the U.S., including the Sarnia refinery and petrochemical complex, Quebec refineries, and 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:
• With nearly one-third of U.S. and Canadian economic activity centred in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region, a significant number of binational mechanisms at the federal, provincial and municipal levels work together to advance environmental protection and economic development in the Great Lakes region.
• 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.
• Line 5 is vitally needed infrastructure for Michigan today and into the future. The Great Lakes Tunnel Project would significantly reduce the potential risk to our shared environment in the Great Lakes.
If pressed on the Canada-US Transit Pipeline Treaty:
• We are working closely with the Biden administration to raise and defend Canada’s interests, and are considering all options for ensuring the continued safe operation of Line 5.
• We are aware of the 1977 Treaty, and its provisions and obligations.
• Line 5 is the object of litigation in the U.S. at both federal and state levels. We are monitoring this situation closely.
If pressed on Canada’s long history of collaboration and integration with the U.S.
• Canada and the U.S. enjoy an unparalleled energy relationship that is highly integrated. We are each other’s top energy supplier, across virtually every source of energy.
• On security, economic and environmental grounds, Canada is by far the best possible partner to meet U.S. energy needs.
• The Canada-U.S. relationship goes far beyond a single project: we enjoy one of the world’s most productive and mutually beneficial bilateral relationships.
If pressed on the granular details of Line 5
• Line 5 delivers crude oil to Michigan that the state's refineries need to produce transportation fuel. The pipeline also supports Michigan's homegrown upstream oil and gas industry. Marathon Oil’s refinery in Detroit receives 28% of its feedstock directly from Line 5 to produce gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
• Line 5 supplies the refineries that provide the majority of the aviation fuel to Detroit Metro Airport.
• Line 5 delivers the feedstocks that produce 65% of the propane that heats Michigan Upper Peninsula homes and businesses, and 55% of Michigan's statewide propane needs. Michigan consumes more propane than any other state in America.
• Line 5 is a lifeline for Ohio’s refineries, which do not have good alternative sources of supply and could be forced to shut down in the event of a Line 5 closure.

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