FILE – In this June 8, 2017, file photo, fresh nuts, bolts and fittings are ready to be added to the east leg of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline near St. Ignace, Mich., as Enbridge prepares to test the east and west sides of the Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac in Mackinaw City, Michigan. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Detroit News-Dale G. Young)
WASHINGTON — Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is doubling down on Canada’s assertion that the continuing operation of the Line 5 pipeline is “non-negotiable.”
Wilkinson made the comments in the House of Commons today following media reports that the cross-border pipeline is facing yet another court challenge.
On top of efforts by the state of Michigan to shut down the line, an Indigenous band in Wisconsin is now asking a judge there to do the same.
The Globe and Mail reports that the Bad River Band of Lake Superior is arguing that Enbridge Inc., the pipeline’s owner, no longer has the right to operate on its territory.
The band filed a motion in February seeking a summary judgment against Enbridge — in other words, to shut down Line 5 without a trial.
That challenge comes as Enbridge tries to fend off Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who fears an ecological disaster in the Straits of Mackinac, where the twin lines cross the Great Lakes.
“The continued operation of Line 5 is non-negotiable,” Wilkinson said Friday in response to a question from Conservative MP John Brassard.
“We will take appropriate steps to ensure the continued safe operation of this critical infrastructure. And we continue to work closely with the owner of Line 5.”
In the Michigan case, Canada has invoked a 1977 bilateral pipelines treaty aimed at ensuring the uninterrupted flow of energy between the two countries, and has petitioned the court there to allow those talks to play out.
It’s not yet clear whether the federal Liberal government will do so again in the Wisconsin matter.
“Canada and the United States continue to be engaged in the process under the 1977 transit pipelines agreement to ensure the continued operation of Line 5,” Wilkinson said.
“Until this issue is resolved, I will continue to raise it with my U.S. counterparts as I have been doing on an ongoing basis.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2022.
The Canadian Press
- 0091 WBPC_2025_30_SEC_PROMO_RANJITH0091 WBPC_2025_30_SEC_PROMO_RANJITH
- 0090 WBPC_2025_30_SECOND_PROMO_DAN0090 WBPC_2025_30_SECOND_PROMO_DAN
- 0089 WBPC_2025_30_SEC_PROMO_ERIK0089 WBPC_2025_30_SEC_PROMO_ERIK
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0088 WBPC_2025_30SEC_PROMO0088 WBPC_2025_30SEC_PROMO
- 0087 Lori Carr Coal Expansion0087 Lori Carr Coal Expansion
- 0086 Sask Gov Oil and Gas Incentive Programs0086 Sask Gov Oil and Gas Incentive Programs
- 0085 Turnbull snow removal call office0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001