United Nations Urges Canada and the U.S. to Decommission Enbridge's Line 5

Bay Mills President Whitney Gravelle. UN Permanent Forum of Indigenous Issues 2025.

United Nations Urges Canada and the U.S. to Decommission Enbridge's Line 5

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, May 9, 2025

NEW YORK -- Enbridge's corroding pipeline, Line 5, carries oil and gas through the heart of the Great Lakes, and Native people in the United States and Canada want it shut down.

Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle, representing more than 50 Native communities, told the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, that the pipeline has already spilled more than one million gallons of petroleum into the Great Lakes.

"Enbridge operates the Line 5 pipeline, a corroding dual pipeline that carries up to 23 million gallons of oil and gas each day through the Straits of Mackinac, the heart of the Great Lakes and the center of creation for our people," President Gravelle told the U.N.

"As the Permanent Forum and other U.N. experts have recognized, Line 5 jeopardizes the Great Lakes and poses a real and credible threat to the human rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the United States."

The Permanent Forum, in its final report issued at the end of its two week session in New York, called on Canada and the United States to decommission Line 5.

"The Permanent Forum reiterates its call for Canada and the United States to decommission the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline, which poses a real and credible threat to the Great Lakes and Indigenous Peoples. Both States must implement the Declaration in connection with Line 5 by respecting the free, prior and informed consent of the affected Indigenous Peoples," the final report states.

Line 5 protest courtesy of Whitney Gravelle, President of Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan

President Gravelle told the United Nations:

"Bay Mills is concerned about the longstanding financial relationship between Canada’s official export credit agency and the oil and gas company Enbridge. Export Development Canada has provided funding to Enbridge at least 44 times since 2001, including a $200-300 million loan renewal this past July.

Enbridge operates the Line 5 pipeline, a corroding dual pipeline that carries up to 23 million gallons of oil and gas each day through the Straits of Mackinac, the heart of the Great Lakes and the center of creation for our people.

As the Permanent Forum and other U.N. experts have recognized, Line 5 jeopardizes the Great Lakes and poses a real and credible threat to the human rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the United States.

The pipeline has already spilled more than 1 million gallons of petroleum products into the Great Lakes and is at serious risk of further spills, including a catastrophic spill. In light of these risks, the Permanent Forum has called on Canada and the U.S. to decommission Line 5.

Yet, Export Development Canada continues to support Enbridge, including through financing that can be used for general working capital and corporate purposes. Meanwhile, the Canadian government is supporting the continued operations of Line 5 through other fora.

Canada initiated and is engaging in bilateral negotiations about the pipeline’s fate without allowing affected Indigenous Nations to participate, including Bay Mills, despite our requests for a seat at the table.

Canada is also intervening in ongoing litigation in the United States, arguing in amicus briefs that U.S. courts are not empowered to redress Enbridge’s trespass and unlawful presence on Tribal and state lands due to its Pipeline Treaty with the U.S. Canada’s actions ignore its international obligations to Indigenous peoples under international human rights treaties and UNDRIP, which the State has committed to implementing.

The contrast could not be clearer.

While Indigenous communities work to protect our lands, waters, and cultural resources, we continue to face significant barriers to access the funding needed to support these solutions. At the same time, fossil fuel companies benefit from routine access to large-scale public loans and credit guarantees, even as their projects violate our rights and threaten our way of life.

Public funds should not support projects that violate our rights. True support means ending harmful investments and backing Indigenous leadership to protect our lands, waters, and future generations."