Canada formally invokes 1977 pipeline treaty with U.S. over Line 5 dispute [View all]

Source: Reuters

CALGARY, Alberta, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Canada on Monday formally invoked a 1977 treaty with the United States to request bilateral negotiations over Enbridge Inc's (ENB.TO) Line 5, escalating a long-running dispute over one of Canada's major oil export pipelines.

Line 5 ships 540,000 barrels per day of crude and refined products from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, but the state of Michigan ordered Enbridge to shut it down due to worries a leak could develop in a four-mile section running beneath the Straits of Mackinac in the Great Lakes.

Enbridge ignored Michigan's order and the sides are embroiled in a legal battle. The government of Canada has been pushing counterparts in the United States to intervene, and Monday's move marks a step up in Ottawa's efforts to help safeguard the pipeline.

In a letter to the federal judge presiding over the case, Gordon Giffin, legal counsel for the Canadian government, said Canada had formally invoked Article Six of the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/canada-formally-invokes-1977-pipeline-treaty-with-us-over-line-5-dispute-2021-10-04/

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Gov. Witmer is trying to protect our waters. Ottawa should pound (tar) sand on this one.