WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2024 — In a recent report, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation called on Canada to cease the operation of the Line 5 pipeline until the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of affected Indigenous Peoples is secured.
The report is the culmination of the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Canada and is based on information gathered ahead of and during his official country visit.
In his report, the Special Rapporteur states that he “received concerning information about the risks posed by the Line 5 pipeline to the Great Lakes, which are home to 20 percent of the world’s surface fresh water and provide drinking water to more than 40 million people. … Risks of catastrophic oil spills due to the aged infrastructure and the strong currents in the straits are well documented.” He also draws attention to the company’s plans to reroute the existing pipeline in Wisconsin and build a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac, which the Rapporteur notes “has raised opposition from civil society, academia, businesses, local government and Indigenous Peoples, among others.”
He recommends that Canada: “Suspend large-scale mining and oil and gas pipeline projects, such as … the … Line 5 pipeline[s], until the necessary processes of assessing the impact of long-term risks to human rights, the environment and biodiversity, and guaranteeing the right of the Indigenous Peoples concerned to respect for the principle of free, prior and informed consent, have been completed.”
The Special Rapporteur joins a chorus of calls by other UN experts and bodies. He “reiterates” a recommendation to Canada by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples to “cease construction or operation of the … Line 5 pipeline[] until the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous Peoples affected is secured.” Similarly, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in 2023 and 2024 called for “Canada and the United States to decommission Line 5,” which they recognized threatens human rights and the Great Lakes. In December 2023, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination sent a letter to Canada seeking information regarding its support for the Line 5 pipeline. In its letter, the Committee noted, “it is also concerned that, by supporting Enbridge’s continued operation of Line 5, the State party enables discriminatory practices and poses foreseeable risks to the Anishinaabe People’s rights.”
In response to this report, Jacques LeBlanc, Vice President of Bay Mills Indian Community, said:
“The Indigenous People have their ways of life embedded and imprinted on this land. Line 5 is more than an environmental threat, it’s a danger to our culture and our history.”
Tamara Morgenthau, Senior Attorney, Climate and Energy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), said:
“Canada must stop ignoring the calls by Indigenous Peoples, UN Special Rapporteurs, and the UNPFII to cease the pipeline’s operations. As the Special Rapporteur’s report highlights, Canada must respect the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of affected Indigenous Peoples. Here, this requires Canada to withdraw its support for Line 5.”
Sydney Speizman, Legal Fellow at EarthRights International, said:
“The Special Rapporteur’s report reinforces what we already know: overwhelming evidence shows that Line 5 poses catastrophic threats to Great Lakes waters and to the communities, flora, and fauna that rely on them. It is high time that Canada heed international experts’ recommendations and decommission Line 5.”
James Yap, Acting Director of the International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, said:
“Enough is enough. This aging pipeline poses a grave and imminent risk to Indigenous communities around the Great Lakes. Experts and rights watchdogs around the world have repeatedly warned that it must be decommissioned immediately. It is time to heed those warnings before it is too late.”
Media Contact:
Maria Frausto, Center for International Environmental Law at press@ciel.org