The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that shutting down Enbridge's Line 5 would cause Canada "grave harm" and violate its treaty rights, government lawyers argued Monday as the federal government rejoined the legal fray over the crossborder oil and gas pipeline. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe reports that an amicus brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit marked Ottawa's first foray into the continuing legal dispute in Wisconsin, and its second since Michigan mounted a similar challenge in 2020. A Wisconsin court order issued in June gave Enbridge three years to reroute the pipeline around territory belonging to the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Enbridge's operations on Bad River territory "must cease" on June 16, 2026, regardless of whether the 66-kilometre detour around the reserve is complete, Wisconsin district court Judge William Conley ruled. Both sides are now appealing that decision. The brief says, "The district court's shutdown injunction should be vacated, or at least substantially modified, to comply with the 1977 treaty." Indigenous stakeholders were quick to note the irony of Canada complaining about a violation of its treaty rights.
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