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Canada鈥檚 federal government is voicing its support for Calgary-based Enbridge鈥檚 Line 3 project in northern Minnesota as opposition to the pipeline鈥檚 construction intensifies.
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Canadian Ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman has 鈥渦nderscored鈥� to both federal and state-level U.S. officials the importance to both nations of 鈥渆nergy security and the free flow of resources over our shared border,鈥� according to the office of Natural Resources Minister Seamus O鈥橰egan.
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鈥淲e support the Line 3 Replacement Project," O鈥橰egan鈥檚 press secretary Ian Cameron told Canada鈥檚 National Observer, noting that construction was complete on the Canadian side of the border. 鈥淲e look forward to working with the secretary of energy in the U.S. on this and other issues, once they are confirmed.鈥�
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The comments come as the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden makes fighting the climate crisis a top priority, already moving swiftly to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau鈥檚 objections. Opponents of Line 3 want Biden to follow up that decision with another that yanks a water permit for the pipeline.
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It means Trudeau鈥檚 cabinet is on the opposite side politically as some of the more progressive politicians in the U.S., such as Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents Minnesota's fifth district and is the whip for the Congressional Progressive Caucus. On Jan. 30, Omar met with Indigenous leaders organizing against Line 3.
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鈥淲e owe it to future generations, to the Indigenous communities we've signed treaties with and to every living being on this planet to stop building fossil fuel infrastructure,鈥� Omar said. Her visit was followed by the release of an open letter in the Star Tribune, the largest newspaper in Minnesota, that was signed by famous music acts like Bon Iver and Pearl Jam.
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Enbridge is in the process of building a bigger Line 3, its 1960s-era pipeline that travels 1,660 kilometres from Edmonton, Alta., across the Canada-U.S. border, through Minnesota to the western edge of Lake Superior, where it feeds Enbridge鈥檚 Line 5 pipeline and its Great Lakes pipeline network.
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After many decades of use, Line 3 has been deteriorating and its capacity has dropped. Enbridge is replacing it with a wider pipe that it says will carry much more oil 鈥� 760,000 barrels per day of light, medium and heavy crude 鈥� to refineries in the Midwest and Eastern Canada.
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In December, the company started construction on the pipeline segment in Minnesota after finishing construction on other segments on the Canadian side and in Wisconsin and North Dakota.
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The new pipeline would 鈥渋mprove the integrity of the pipeline network, reduce the transportation of oil by rail and on public roads, and increase environmental safety," said Cameron.
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Trudeau spoke with U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Monday, and while the prime minister鈥檚 readout of the conversation did not mention any specific pipeline by name, it said he underlined 鈥渢he importance of strengthening North American energy security.鈥�
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The pipeline has faced mounting opposition from critics who point out that new fossil fuel infrastructure will delay the energy transition needed to slow the climate crisis. The pipeline also traverses ecologically sensitive lands, and opponents say it would 鈥渢hreaten drinking water for millions鈥� and trample Indigenous rights.
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The Red Lake Band of Chippewa, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, the Sierra Club and Honor the Earth have filed a lawsuit asking for an injunction to stop construction. There is also an opposition camp near Park Rapids, Minn.
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鈥淭hese projects are not really viable,鈥� said Lindsey Bacigal, director of communications at Indigenous Climate Action. 鈥淚f it gets to the point where it gets cancelled, I think it鈥檚 really symbolic and representative of the fact that pipelines are being replaced with better and cleaner sources of energy.鈥�
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Bacigal said there has been cross-border social media and other forms of digital support for Honor the Earth and other Indigenous climate opposition in the absence of more support on the ground due to health restrictions from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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She said the Canadian federal government鈥檚 support for Line 3 means 鈥渕ultiple members of government are really just doubling down on the oil industry.鈥�
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Line 3 opponents want Biden to revoke a key federal permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Nov. 23, 2020 covering impact on waters from construction during the Line 3 replacement project. The corps said it had determined the project was in the public interest and was also 鈥渃ompliant with all federal laws and regulations.鈥�
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Enbridge says the work is necessary for safety reasons, and the company also notes the project passed six years鈥� worth of permit and regulatory reviews, including dozens of public comment meetings and an Obama-era consent decree.
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鈥淓nbridge has demonstrated ongoing respect for tribal sovereignty,鈥� said Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner. She said Line 3 was routed outside of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation and through the reservation of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 鈥渁s the result of negotiations with tribal leadership.鈥�
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鈥淭he project is already providing significant economic benefits in Minnesota for counties, small businesses, Native American communities, and union members,鈥� said Kellner.
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Enbridge has spent $180 million on the project 鈥渟pecifically with tribal nations, communities and contractors,鈥� Kellner added, and 300 Indigenous men and women are working on the project, or nine per cent of its workforce.
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Bacigal said that kind of approach highlights how Indigenous communities are put into paradoxical situations when it comes to fossil fuel infrastructure.
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鈥淲e have to choose between something that can maybe help to prop up our economy, but then is going to violate the lands and the waters and can have these long-term impacts,鈥� she said.
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Carl Meyer / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada鈥檚 National Observer
