Canada cites US treaty in pipeline dispute in Michigan

Canada invoked a treaty with the United States and asked a judge Monday to suspend litigation over Michigan's effort to shut down an oil pipeline that ends in Ontario.

Canada said it requested negotiations with the U.S. about the pipeline. It cited a provision in the 1977 treaty that says no public authority in either country can take steps to interfere with the flow of hydrocarbons.

“With the triggering of the treaty’s dispute settlement process, the court should hold proceedings relating to Michigan’s Line 5 shutdown order in abeyance,” Gordon Giffin, an attorney for Canada, told U.S. District Judge Janet Neff.

Line 5 is operated by Calgary-based Enbridge. It moves about 23 million gallons (87 million liters) of oil and natural gas liquids daily between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario, traversing parts of northern Michigan and Wisconsin.

A section of the pipeline runs on the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, which connects lakes Huron and Michigan at the top of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, both Democrats, say Line 5 is a grave threat to the Great Lakes and should be closed to prevent spills.

Whitmer said she was disappointed by Canada’s decision.

“We greatly appreciate the efforts of 'Team Canada,’ from the government of Canada to the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan, for their commitments and efforts to keep Line 5 open,” Enbridge said.

Before Whitmer took office in 2019, Enbridge had reached a deal with Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to protect the pipeline by building a tunnel by 2024.