The Line 5 pipeline plays a critical role in ensuring the United States and Canada continue to have access to affordable fuels, propane and other refined products. Union, political and business leaders on both sides of the border are emphasizing the critical role of the Line 5 pipeline and calling for it to remain open until its replacement can be completed:

 

“The USW strongly supports both the Line 5 replacement segment project and the continued operation of the existing pipeline … Hundreds of USW members and their communities depend on the good, family-sustaining jobs Line 5 supports.”

 

“We support the pipeline and the tunnel, because Line 5 couldn’t be more important to the Lansing region. Line 5 supplies the fuel our local communities use to power the manufacturing sector and chemistry industry, to run equipment farmers use to put food on our tables, and it even delivers more than half the propane used in Michigan — not just in the Upper Peninsula. We encourage the governor and lawmakers to protect the jobs and investment our communities count on each day. We encourage them to keep Line 5 open and to back the Great Lakes Tunnel.”

 

“We continue to advocate for Line 5. We recognize how important it is to ensure energy security to both Canadians and Americans. … Line 5 is a vital source of fuel for homes and businesses on both sides of the border. That is something we have argued strongly, and will continue to argue strongly, with members of the U.S. administration.”

- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, February 3, 2021

 

“We are preparing to invoke whatever measures we need to in order to make sure Line 5 remains operational … It’s vital to Canadian energy security and to America’s. We raised Line 5 directly with the president, and we are looking at all our options.”

 

“If U.S. President Joe Biden — having killed the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day of office — wants to demonstrate his friendship with Canada, he can do so by urging Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer not to kill Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline by May. Whitmer’s decision would have a huge negative impact on Ontario and Quebec — as well as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania — costing thousands of direct and indirect jobs, increasing oil and natural gas prices and leading to shortages of propane. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says closing Line 5 now would cost thousands of refinery jobs in Sarnia and could lead to shutting down Pearson International Airport, because it would choke off the airport’s jet fuel which is refined in Sarnia and provided by Line 5.”

 

“[Michigan Governor Gretchen] Whitmer should look hard at what happened in Texas and other states where energy supplies were disrupted to tragic consequence in part because of wrong-headed energy policy. Line 5 is a Michigan asset that keeps energy supplies flowing despite the weather and prices lower than they would be if those petroleum products were transported by road or rail. Whitmer should recognize the advantage the pipeline provides Michigan, drop her attacks on Line 5 and join with Enbridge in getting the Straits tunnel built as quickly as possible.”

 

“Line 5 delivers 53 percent of Ontario’s crude oil and is a critical source of supply for approximately two-thirds of Quebec’s crude consumption. Additionally, the fuel line feeds Canadian refineries, ensuring a safe, affordable and reliable supply of gasoline, propane, diesel, jet fuel and other products. Operating the line supports the employment of thousands of skilled trades across Canada, and supplies over 50 per cent of Michigan’s propane needs. Line 5 is an integral piece of North American infrastructure. …The implications of closing Line 5 will impact our entire nation. Adding cost to Ontario’s food producers, laying off thousands of skilled workers and increasing grocery bills for consumers. The closure of Line 5 will not just affect the agriculture industry; this is a national issue that could have large implications for our economy as a whole.”

 

“We are concerned about the consequences that would result from halting operations of Enbridge's Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. The adverse economic and environmental impacts this would have on the region in which Line 5 operates cannot be overstated. Thousands of jobs across Ohio, Michigan, northwest Pennsylvania, western New York, and Wisconsin could be eliminated and billions of dollars in economic activity would be severely diminished at a time of great economic uncertainty.

“The reduced fuel supply from shutting down Line 5 would permanently shutter refineries in Ohio and Michigan, resulting in the loss of billions of dollars in annual economic output, tens of thousands of jobs, and the elimination of 15 percent of northwest's Ohio's fuel supply and 43 percent of southeastern Michigan's fuel supply. Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula would be especially harmed, as Line 5 supplies 65 percent of the propane used to heat homes in the region. Transportation hubs in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania would also be adversely affected, including Detroit Metropolitan Airport, which would lose at least 50 percent of its jet fuel supplies from refineries served by Line 5.

“Across America, pipeline construction and maintenance projects account for tens of thousands of family-supporting, skilled trade union jobs. It is estimated that the Great Lakes Tunnel project alone will need more than 2,000,000 work hours over the course of construction. Shutting down Line 5 and ultimately the Great lakes Tunnel project would have devastating consequences, threatening thousands of jobs, billions in economic output, and the safe supply and affordability of resources necessary to meet families' and businesses' most basic needs.

“With the nation, and the world, focused on defeating the coronavirus and recovering our economies, now is not the time to a cause regional and international energy crisis by shutting down pipelines such as Line 5 that serve as essential parts of our states' and this nation's infrastructure and economies.”

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