(Washington) Human rights and environmental groups accuse Canada of trying to exploit a “dormant” cross-border treaty to prevent the closure of Line 5.
The argument is contained in new court documents in the ongoing dispute between Calgary energy giant Enbridge and an Indigenous band in Wisconsin.
The groups, including the American Center for International Environmental Law, argue that Line 5 deserves no special treatment simply because it crosses an international border.
Enbridge and the Canadian federal government are invoking a 1977 treaty to argue that the economic and geopolitical stakes of this issue are too important to close the pipeline.
The company and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa are appealing a district court ruling that gave Enbridge three years to move the pipeline out of the band’s territory.
Enbridge says that may not be enough time to prevent the shutdown of what it says is a vital energy supply line to Ontario, Quebec and the U.S. Midwest.