Canadian Trade Minister Signals Support For Line 5, So Sign Petition Supporting It!

In a meeting last week with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Canadian Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade, and Economic Development Mary Ng emphasized the significance of the Enbridge Line 5 energy pipeline for trade between, and the security of, Canada and the United States.

As Connecting the Dots readers may recall, the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) is a member of the Energy Equipment and Infrastructure Alliance (EEIA), a trade association that represents organizations, companies, and people who work in and support the shale oil and gas supply chain, that has been working to ensure Line 5 gets built. MSCI members now can lend their voices to the EEIA’s efforts by signing a petition in support of Line 5, which would transport crude oil and propane supplies to demand centers throughout the upper Midwest of the United States and Canada.

Here is what is happening: a 13-mile segment of Line 5 crosses the Bad River Indian reservation in northern Wisconsin. After the tribe attempted to cancel the line’s easement, Enbridge proposed a 41-mile relocation of Line 5 around the reservation, and has applied for the necessary construction permits to do so, including from the state of Wisconsin and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. While EEIA strongly supports this relocation project, opponents are fighting the permits and are trying to force Line 5 to shut down permanently, an outcome that would result in a catastrophic loss of energy supplies to the region.

The Army Corps of Engineers has issued its required environmental assessment of the project and has published it for a 60-day public comment period. EEIA is mobilizing individuals along the energy supply chain to sign a petition to the Army Corps in support of the project. Please participate by clicking here. In addition to your own signature, please forward the link to others may be interested.

Minister Ng also provided an update on work underway by Canada to provide greater transparency and predictability in the trade and investment environment for the North American steel and aluminum sectors. Read more here and here.