Tribal reps send report to UN opposing Canada's support for Line 5
GENEVA, Switzerland — Several representatives of Indigenous communities have submitted a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council urging the Canadian Government to withdraw its support for Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline, which runs under the Straits of Mackinac.
The report has been submitted for consideration under Canada's fourth Universal Periodic Review, in which Canada's human rights record will be reviewed and scrutinized by other U.N. member States.
The report states that continued operation of Line 5 poses the risk of a "catastrophic oil spill" that would threaten natural and cultural resources and endanger the way of life of Indigenous communities.
"Enbridge is operating Line 5 without valid easements, and has also been found to be trespassing on Indigenous Peoples’ land," the report states. "Indigenous Peoples on both sides of the border and the U.S. State of Michigan have publicly expressed opposition to the pipeline and called for its decommissioning."
The full report can be read here.
The report criticizes Canada's invocation of the 1977 Transit Pipeline Treaty with the U.S. to support the continued operation of Line 5.
"The Straits of Mackinac are central to the Anishinaabe creation story, which makes this location sacred from both a cultural and historical perspective in the formation of the Anishinaabe people,” said Chairperson Austin Lowes of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
“Protecting the Straits is also a matter of the utmost environmental and economic importance – both to our people and the state of Michigan," Lowes said.
The report calls into question Enbridge's history with relation to oil spills, citing a study that the Line 5 pipeline has leaked over 1 million gallons of oil since 1953.
Enbridge is also responsible for one of the worst inland oil spills in U.S. history when their 6B pipeline in Marshall leaked over 800,000 gallons of crude oil in July 2010.
The report recommends the following to the Canadian Government:
Withdraw its invocation of the Pipeline Treaty and its positions in U.S. litigation opposing decommissioning Line 5;
Ensure that affected Indigenous Nations, who are sovereigns and human rights holders, are invited to participate in discussions regarding Line 5’s future, including any negotiations under the Pipeline Treaty, so long as they continue;
Interpret all international treaties, including the Pipeline Treaty, consistently with Canada’s human rights obligations;
Ensure affected Indigenous Peoples’ FPIC before providing support for extractive sector projects and withdraw support from projects that do not have affected Indigenous Peoples’ FPIC;
Ensure corporations under Canadian jurisdiction do not cause or contribute to foreseeable threats to human rights.
“The Bad River Band is saddened by the fact that Canada’s actions have required us to raise our complaints with the United Nations, but Canada has left the Tribes with no choice,” said Chairman Michael Wiggins Jr. of the Bad River Band.
“Canada has deliberately interfered in our efforts to protect our homeland," Wiggins said. "It has sought to block us from evicting a company that has trespassed on our lands for a decade and whose actions pose an existential threat to the Bad River watershed and our very way of life. It has likewise interfered with the efforts of Bay Mills and our other sister tribes in Michigan to protect their sacred waterways and fisheries. Canada’s prioritization of the profits of its oil and gas companies over the rights of Indigenous peoples on both sides of the border demands the attention of all people of good faith.”
Canada's upcoming Universal Periodic Review is scheduled for November 6 - 17, 2023, at the U.N. Human Rights Council.