Sarnia-Lambton politicians again voiced concerns about the future of Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline Wednesday as Joe Biden was sworn-in as the 46th president of the United States.
Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu said she looks forward to working with the new administration, but with Biden already poised to revoke approval of the Keystone X-L pipeline, she's worried what that might signal for Line 5.
"Which is of course is extremely important for Sarnia from a job loss perspective, it's really existential for us," said Gladu. "Because Line 5 is under federal jurisdiction, it goes through several states, our hope is that the prime minister can work with Joe Biden to restore Line 5, to remove the injunction that Governor Whitmer has called for and I look forward to seeing more action there."
There's concern thousands of local jobs could be lost if the State of Michigan succeeds in shutting down Line 5 which runs between Superior, Wisconsin and Sarnia, and has dual lines beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
Gladu said clearly Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden have more in common and she hopes that bodes well for the pipeline.
"President Biden, before he was president, came to visit parliament in Canada, so I know it was a cordial relationship before, and I'm hoping that that will bode well for the prime minister intervening on issues like Line 5," she said.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley looks forward to a return to normal, stable relations between the two countries.
"But Americans have been always famous for taking care of their own interests, that's what you'll probably see with Keystone and you'll see it on other issues," said Bradley. "But the best part though is we can negotiate as friends, as trading partners, and hopefully resolve the issues. I look forward to a resumption of normal relations, where you can at least have some stability and knowing the party you're dealing with is stable."
Bradley holds out hope that there'll be a trade-off between Keystone and Line 5.
"This is an insider issue but we had a prime minister who was anti-pipeline, but then went and bought one. And I'm hoping what will happen is, if Keystone is going to be killed and he [Biden] has been very clear about that and has been consistent over four years, then the federal government in Washington will look at Line 5, which is an existing line that has been in operation for decades and a safe line, and leave it alone."
Both Bradley and Gladu have written to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, expressing grave concern about the State's attempt to shut the line down by revoking the 67-year-old easement allowing it to operate under the Straits of Mackinac.
Calgary-based Enbridge has said the State's action violates federal law and it has no intention of shutting the line down based on unspecified allegations. The company said Line 5 will continue to operate safely while it focuses on plans to construct a 6.4-kilometre tunnel to replace the lines beneath the straits.
-With files from Stephanie Chaves
