FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Canadians and Americans implore their governments to act urgently to protect the Great Lakes from the Line 5 oil pipeline
Protests Press Canada on Great Lakes, Michigan on Court Delays
Today, residents and groups from three Great Lakes states and Canada called on Canadian government authorities to back Michigan's attempts to shut down a dangerous oil pipeline in the Mackinac Straits. Citizens on both sides of the Canada-US border asked that Michigan officials fight against legal delays, noting the need of addressing the threat posed by Enbridge's Line 5.
“Protect the Great Lakes, Shut Down Line 5,” read a sign carried by water activist and Clean Water Action volunteer Natalina Aquino, The Council of Canadians Windsor-Essex Chapter President Doug Hayes, and others who gathered at the Detroit River shoreline in Windsor on Wednesday. Instead of opposing the decommissioning of Line 5, Aquino believes Canada should focus on a national energy plan that safeguards the Great Lakes.
“Enbridge’s Line 5 is a threat to the Great Lakes and a ticking time bomb,” said Aquino. “As Canadians we share the responsibility of protecting the Great Lakes. Every day that Line 5 is allowed to transport oil through the Straits of Mackinac is another day we risk an incredible environmental and economic disaster.”
Citizens groups in Detroit and Chicago joined Windsor activists in calling on Canada to prioritize safeguarding the Great Lakes above supporting Enbridge at protests today near Canadian consulates. In Wisconsin, Sierra Club activists convened at Lake Michigan in Milwaukee with the same message.
Sean McBrearty, coordinator of the Michigan-based Oil & Water Don't Mix coalition, spoke at a press conference along the Detroit River outside the building where Canada's Detroit consulate is housed, calling on Michigan officials involved in a federal lawsuit brought by Enbridge to work against legal delays that have kept Line 5 a threat.
“Endless talks won’t stop a catastrophic oil pipeline rupture in the heart of the Great Lakes,” said McBrearty. “It’s been 10 months since the governor said Line 5 poses an imminent threat of disaster and we still don’t know which court has jurisdiction.”
Today's international protests in support of shutting down a nearly 70-year-old oil pipeline that is damaged and dangerous come on the heels of a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calling for immediate climate action from the world's nations.To avoid the worst effects of climate change, global warming must be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius and global emissions must be cut in half by 2030.
“Achieving this goal is what Canada agreed to when it ratified the Paris Climate Accord,” said Jamie Simmons, Michigan Climate Action Network’s engagement director, who spoke at the Detroit event. “Allowing Line 5 to continue to operate - or to be replaced by a new oil tunnel to operate for another 99 years as Enbridge is proposing - is not consistent with this climate goal.”
Beth Wallace, partnerships manager at National Wildlife Federation Great Lakes Regional Center, said Canada’s support for the decades-old Line 5 is rooted in the false notion of a quick replacement pipeline.
“Canada continues to base its support for Line 5 on Enbridge's misleading claim that a Line 5 tunnel could be built in a matter of months or a few years,” said Wallace, who spoke at the Detroit press conference. “The facts show that Enbridge consistently misleads the public about the feasibility of this option, which is still many, many years away and may not and should not be built at all.”
Mitch McNeil is chair of the Chicago chapter of Surfrider Foundation. He and other Surfirder activists were joined today by Save Our Illinois Land (SOIL) near the Canadian consulate in downtown Chicago.
“At our event today in Chicago were people who rely on Lake Michigan for drinking water, for recreation, for livelihoods,” said McNeill. “We are counting on Canada to stop supporting and propping up a dangerous oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac and instead take action to protect our shared Great Lakes from the threat of pipeline spills and climate change.”
Enbridge is also under scrutiny in Wisconsin for the dangers of the Line 5 pipeline. After identifying a number of concerns, the Bad River Band Tribal Council has ordered the pipeline to be removed from tribal lands. Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter and 350 Milwaukee members gathered at Lake Michigan in Milwaukee to stand with Bad River and continue their campaign against Line 5 in Wisconsin.
“Enbridge’s proposed new Line 5 segment runs through ceded territory and would devastate the land, water, and wild rice with a spill and through construction,” said Elizabeth Ward, Wisconsin Sierra Club Chapter Director. “The Bad River Band reserves rights -- by treaty with the U.S. government -- to hunt, fish, and gather throughout treaty-ceded territories. For our water and climate, we stand with Bad River calling for Enbridge to shut down the Line 5 pipeline.”
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Oil & Water Don’t Mix Line 5 backgrounder: summary of reporting, commentary on Line 5 controversy with links to stories, commentary, government documents