With the Line 5 shutdown order, the U.S. spurns Canada’s energy needs again – by Lawrence Martin (Globe and Mail – May 13, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer won’t back off. Rather than show flexibility toward Canada in the confrontation over the vital Line 5 pipeline, she’s treating the good neighbour as badly as Donald Trump did, prompting a showdown.

She’s ordered the shutdown of the Enbridge Inc. line that passes through her state and supplies almost half the fuel needs of Ontario and Quebec. She threatened Tuesday to seize the profits of Enbridge if it doesn’t comply. It says it won’t.

This line has been in operation for 67 years without a leak into the Straits, but that doesn’t cut it with the uncompromising governor, a rising Democratic Party star. She alleges it is in ill-repair and could cause a horrific spill.

She’s ignored a compromise reached by the previous governor, Republican Rick Snyder, that would see Enbridge bore an underground tunnel connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan as a replacement for the pipeline.

Ottawa has repeatedly raised the issue with U.S. counterparts to try to ward off a crisis. If the shutdown occurs, thousands of jobs would be threatened and gas prices would jump.

For the rest of this article: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-with-line-5-shutdown-order-us-spurns-canadas-energy-needs-again/