White House, Senators Have ‘Sympathy’ for Canada’s Position on Line 5, Says Wilkinson

WASHINGTON — Canada’s natural resources minister says he is hearing “significant sympathy” from U.S. officials for the plight of the Line 5 pipeline.

Jonathan Wilkinson is in Washington, D.C., for meetings with lawmakers, Biden administration officials and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Wilkinson says that while Canada is focused on keeping the cross-border pipeline operating, the government is also exploring contingency plans in the event a court orders it shut down.

The state of Michigan wants Line 5 permanently shuttered for fear of an environmental disaster in the Straits of Mackinac, where the pipeline crosses the Great Lakes.

Wilkinson also says Canada won’t be intervening in a separate court case in Wisconsin, where an Indigenous group is also trying to shut down the line, which is run by Calgary-based Enbridge Inc.

He says he hopes the issues in both Wisconsin and Michigan can be dealt with in treaty talks that are currently taking place between Canada and the U.S. in an effort to prevent a shutdown.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2022.

The Canadian Press

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