Senate Committee to hold panel on threatened Enbridge Line 5 pipeline shutdown

Ottawa, April 21, 2021 – On Thursday, April 22, 2021, the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry will host a panel with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the Canadian Propane Association to discuss the potential impacts of, and contingency plans for, a shutdown of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline.

The Line 5 pipeline transports Western Canadian oil via Michigan to Ontario where it is then refined. The pipeline’s pending shutdown and resulting disruptions to propane supply are expected to significantly affect Canada’s agriculture sector, particularly farmers in Central and Eastern Canada.

Keith Currie, Vice President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, and Nathalie St-Pierre, President and CEO of the Canadian Propane Association, will testify before the committee during Thursday’s panel.

Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Time: 9 a.m. ET
Location: The meeting will be held virtually and can be viewed on SenVu.

Quick Facts

• On November 13, 2020, Michigan’s governor issued a notice revoking and terminating the easement that authorizes Enbridge to operate a dual pipeline across the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, citing environmental concerns. The notice gave Enbridge until May 12, 2021, to shut down the section of Line 5 that crosses the Straits.
• Despite having domestic refining capacity for most energy products, the Atlantic provinces also depend on this pipeline because they still import propane from plants in Sarnia, Ontario, that are connected to Line 5.
• Farmers in Central and Eastern Canada say the Line 5 shutdown will disrupt and lengthen supply chains and make it disproportionately difficult for them to obtain propane for drying grain and heating barns.
• Contingency planning for Central and Eastern Canada includes increasing the importation of petroleum products, including propane, by rail and truck, as well as increasing storage capacity.

Quote

“As Chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, I am deeply concerned about what a Line 5 pipeline shutdown could mean for agricultural producers and those who rely on propane to prepare food. It is important that Canadians understand the implications of this shutdown, which may impact farmers in Central and Eastern Canada to the same degree as the CN rail strike in 2019 and the rail blockades in 2020 did.”

– Senator Diane Griffin, Chair of the committee

Associated Links

• See the full list of witnesses.
• Learn more about the committee.
• Can’t watch the event live? You can still view it afterwards on SenVU.
• Follow the committee on social media using the hashtag #AGFO.
• Sign up for the Senate eNewsletter.

For more information:
Ben Silverman
Public Relations Officer | Senate of Canada
613-614-1180 | ben.silverman@sen.parl.gc.ca

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