Stop Blocking the Shut Down of Line 5!

In the early summer of 2023, a U.S. judge in Wisconsin ordered the Canadian oil company, Enbridge Inc., to shut down the section of the Line 5 pipeline that runs through the territory of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa by June 2026. Since 2019, the Band has been fighting a legal battle with Enbridge to have the pipeline removed from its territory and watershed. In the ongoing legal battle, Enbridge has been found guilty of trespass on tribal territory since 2013.

In response to the court case, Canada filed two briefs seeking to block the shutdown order by invoking and misrepresenting a 1977 pipeline treaty.

When it comes to pipeline spills, the question is not if, but when. Canada has never had a leak-proof pipeline - and Enbridge’s Line 5 is a 71 year old, deteriorating pipeline that poses an imminent and direct threat to the Great Lakes basin. Danger to irreparable loss of drinkable water exists particularly at two high-profile and highly sensitive areas: the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, and further upstream at the Bad River (also known as Mishkiiziibii/Medicine River), which flows directly into Lake Superior.

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has called for decommissioning Line 5. But on several occasions, the Canadian government has sought to block the shutdown order - as well as to interfere with a separate shutdown order made by the Michigan government - by wrongfully invoking a 1977 pipeline treaty. In fact, that treaty explicitly allows for protection of the environment against pipelines.

More than 5,000 individuals and 300 organizations have called on the Canadian government to stop this diplomatic shenanigans that interfere with tribal, state, and federal actions in the US against Line 5. In October 2023, Mike Morrice, the Green Party MP for Kitchener Centre presented our petition to this effect in the House of Commons. Later that year, Pam Damoff, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs), issued a response on behalf of the government.

The Canadian government's so-called response ignores all the "whereas" clauses in our petition, and offers a litany of easily-refutable falsehoods instead. Failing to even mention the many points of our petition, the government's response instead serves up environmental and economic platitudes that are demonstrably false.

Line 5 must be shut down!

421

Goal: 1000

Tell Minister Joly to stop blocking the shutdown of Line 5. The Canadian government must retract any and all use of the 1977 Pipeline Agreement to keep the decrepit carbon bomb Enbridge Line 5 going. Fill out the form below to send her an email making this demand.

Dites à la ministre Joly de cesser de bloquer la fermeture de la ligne 5. Le gouvernement Canadien doit annuler toute utilisation de l'entente de 1977 sur les pipelines pour maintenir en service la ligne 5 d'Enbridge, une bombe de carbone décrépite. Remplissez le formulaire ci-dessous pour lui envoyer un courriel à cet effet.

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Dear [recipient name will go here],
    
I am writing in support of the new End Line 5 Coalition’s demands regarding the diplomatic interference your office has engaged in to block the shutdown of Enbridge’s Line 5. A U.S. judge in Wisconsin ordered the Canadian oil company, Enbridge Inc., to shut down the section of the Line 5 pipeline that runs through the territory of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa by June 2026.  He also found Enbridge guilty of trespass on tribal territory since 2013.

In response to the court case, Canada has filed two amicus briefs (legal documents presenting arguments to the court) in the Bad River Band v. Enbridge Line 5 court case, seeking to block the shutdown order by invoking and misrepresenting a 1977 pipeline treaty.

More than 5,000 individuals and 300 organizations have called on the Canadian government to stop interfering with tribal, state, and federal actions in the US against the 71-year-old tar sands pipeline Line 5, through wrongful use of a 1977 "agreement" between the two countries.  A delegation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous activists delivered this message in person to Parliament, and MP Mike Morrice presented it as a petition to the House of Commons in October 2023.  Later that year, Secretary Damoff, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs), issued a response on behalf of the government. That so-called response ignores nearly all the points made in the petition, and offers a litany of easily-refutable falsehoods instead.  See this document for a rebuttal of those falsehoods, in order of their appearance in the response: https://www.endline5.ca/updates/repudiating-damoffs-petition-response-the-truth-about-enbridges-line-5

We are in full support of the April 4, 2023 Submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council in relation to the Fourth Universal Periodic Review of Canada made by more than 50 Tribal and First Nations calling on the Government of Canada to stop violating the human rights of Indigenous peoples through its support for Enbridge’s Line 5 crude oil pipeline.

Your favoritism toward the fossil fuel industry mocks your own pretensions of concern for the environment. Stop impeding the efforts to shut down Line 5 by those who depend on clean water in the Great Lakes region, and uphold the inherent rights of the Indigenous Nations of the Great Lakes while honoring all of the treaties with Indigenous Nations north and south of the border that predate and precede the 1977 pipeline treaty.

We demand the Canadian government stop perpetuating falsehoods about tar sands pipelines.  We demand the Canadian government start telling the truth to their constituents and the world. And we demand for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to retract any and all use of the 1977 Agreement to keep the decrepit carbon bomb Enbridge Line 5 going.

Sincerely,
[your name will go here]
[your email address will go here] [your location will go here]

Sources:
https://graham.umich.edu/media/pubs/Mackinac-Line-5-Worst-Case-Spill-Scenarios.pdf
(https://environmentaldefence.ca/2022/11/01/busting-enbridges-line-5-myths-part-3-indigenous-sovereignty-tribal-rights-and-consent-bad-river-band-v-enbridge/
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=441-01770
 https://cms.equiterre.org/uploads/Fichiers/Letter_on_Line_5.pdf
https://communitiesunitedbywater.org/communities-united-by-water/tell-canadian-ministers-no
https://progressive.org/latest/pushing-to-stop-line-5-again-kemble-230523
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-6Jb3C1kQR0DJyePL6jgpHQyteLAXSf0/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=105065038664981769077&rtpof=true&sd=true

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Je vous écris pour soutenir les demandes de la nouvelle coalition End Line 5 concernant l'ingérence diplomatique à laquelle votre bureau s'est livré pour bloquer la fermeture de la ligne 5 d'Enbridge. Un juge américain du Wisconsin a ordonné à la compagnie pétrolière canadienne Enbridge Inc. de fermer la section de l'oléoduc de la ligne 5 qui traverse le territoire de la bande Bad River des Chippewas du lac Supérieur d'ici juin 2026.  Il a également reconnu Enbridge coupable d'intrusion sur le territoire tribal depuis 2013.  En ce qui concerne les déversements de pipelines, la question n'est pas de savoir s'ils se produiront, mais quand ils se produiront. Le Canada n'a jamais eu de pipeline à l'épreuve des fuites - et la ligne 5 d'Enbridge est un pipeline vieux de 71 ans qui se détériore et qui constitue une menace imminente et directe pour le bassin des Grands Lacs. Le risque de perte irréparable d'eau potable existe en particulier à deux endroits très visibles et très sensibles : le détroit de Mackinac, qui relie les lacs Huron et Michigan, et, plus en amont, la Bad River (également connue sous le nom de Mishkiiziibii/Medicine River), qui se jette directement dans le lac Supérieur.

En réponse à cette affaire, le Canada a déposé deux mémoires d'amicus curiae (documents juridiques présentant des arguments au tribunal) dans l'affaire Bad River Band v. Enbridge Line 5, cherchant à bloquer l'ordre de fermeture en invoquant et en déformant un traité de 1977 sur les oléoducs.

Plus de 5 000 personnes et 300 organisations ont demandé au gouvernement canadien de cesser d'interférer avec les actions menées aux États-Unis par les tribus, les États et le gouvernement fédéral contre le pipeline de sables bitumineux Line 5, vieux de 71 ans, en invoquant à tort un « accord » conclu en 1977 entre les deux pays.  Une délégation d'activistes autochtones et non autochtones a remis ce message en personne au Parlement, et le député Mike Morrice l'a présenté sous forme de pétition à la Chambre des communes en octobre 2023.  Plus tard dans l'année, le secrétaire Damoff, secrétaire parlementaire du ministre des Affaires étrangères (Affaires consulaires), a publié une réponse au nom du gouvernement. Cette soi-disant réponse ignore presque tous les points soulevés dans la pétition et propose à la place une litanie de faussetés facilement réfutables.  Voir ce document pour une réfutation de ces faussetés, dans l'ordre de leur apparition dans la réponse : https://www.endline5.ca/updates/repudiating-damoffs-petition-response-the-truth-about-enbridges-line-5

Nous soutenons pleinement la soumission du 4 avril 2023 au Conseil des droits de l'homme des Nations Unies en relation avec le quatrième examen périodique universel du Canada, soumise par plus de 50 tribus et Premières Nations, demandant au gouvernement du Canada de cesser de violer les droits humains des peuples autochtones en soutenant la ligne 5 de l'oléoduc d’Enbridge.

Votre favoritisme à l'égard de l'industrie des combustibles fossiles se moque de vos propres prétentions à vous préoccuper de l'environnement. Cessez d'entraver les efforts déployés par ceux qui dépendent de l'eau propre dans la région des Grands Lacs pour fermer la ligne 5, et respectez les droits inhérents des nations autochtones des Grands Lacs tout en honorant tous les traités conclus avec les nations autochtones au nord et au sud de la frontière qui ont précédé le traité de 1977 sur l’oléoduc.

Nous demandons au gouvernement canadien de cesser de perpétuer des mensonges sur les pipelines de sables bitumineux.  Nous demandons au gouvernement canadien de commencer à dire la vérité à ses électeurs et au monde entier. Et nous demandons au ministère des Affaires étrangères de revenir sur toute utilisation de l'accord de 1977 pour maintenir en service la ligne 5 d'Enbridge, une bombe à carbone décrépite.

Sources :
https://graham.umich.edu/media/pubs/Mackinac-Line-5-Worst-Case-Spill-Scenarios.pdf
(https://environmentaldefence.ca/2022/11/01/busting-enbridges-line-5-myths-part-3-indigenous-sovereignty-tribal-rights-and-consent-bad-river-band-v-enbridge/
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=441-01770
 https://cms.equiterre.org/uploads/Fichiers/Letter_on_Line_5.pdf
https://communitiesunitedbywater.org/communities-united-by-water/tell-canadian-ministers-no
https://progressive.org/latest/pushing-to-stop-line-5-again-kemble-230523
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-6Jb3C1kQR0DJyePL6jgpHQyteLAXSf0/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=105065038664981769077&rtpof=true&sd=true

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