OPINION: Line 5 essential to energy security and affordability

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By ROCCO ROSSI and JIM HOLCOMB

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Throughout these turbulent instances, it’s extra essential than ever elected leaders and decision-makers work collectively to help well-reasoned, data-driven actions to safeguard our vitality safety.

The present challenges dealing with our international locations and globe — the invasion of Ukraine, surging post-pandemic vitality demand, extended climate, and provide chain disruptions — make it clear: North American vitality wants North American options.

Line 5 is vital vitality infrastructure that strikes 540,000 barrels of western Canadian oil and pure liquids per day from Wisconsin and Michigan to Ontario. Its financial influence on the Nice Lakes area is super.

It gives greater than half of Ontario’s gasoline, diesel, jet gasoline and associated merchandise that maintain automobiles, vans, planes, farm tools, and development tools transferring. It serves Quebec’s solely two refineries and fuels economies in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Pennsylvania.

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Merchandise moved stateside warmth properties and companies, gasoline automobiles and energy business, supplying 55% of Michigan’s propane wants. A latest research by Shoppers Vitality Alliance tasks closing Line 5 would result in will increase in the price of gasoline by 9.5-11.5% in Ohio and Michigan alone.

Line 5 can be a lifeline to many key industries and jobs our households and communities within the Nice Lakes area depend on, together with:

– 47,000 direct and oblique jobs in Michigan

– The $3.2-billion electronics business in Ontario

– 5.3 million U.S. electronics manufacturing jobs

– 317,000 medical provide staff

– Tens of hundreds of farm companies in Southern Ontario and Michigan

– 24,000 jobs associated to refining and petrochemicals in Sarnia

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– 670,000 jobs within the $89.5-billion cosmetics business

– Sporting items manufacturing and prescribed drugs

Other than the financial implications, closing Line 5 may additionally make present challenges round vitality safety drastically worse. 1000’s of vans, together with will increase in rail and delivery site visitors, can be required to fill the void.

It’s unclear whether or not such a feat is even potential, however in doing so we’d create better threat of oil spills into our pure waterways, improve the emissions related to transporting this important vitality useful resource, and add additional stress to our already battered and overwhelmed roads and bridges.

Line 5 is confirmed to be secure and complies with a number of the strongest environmental rules on the continent. Past that, the pending resolution to unilaterally closing it down — the Nice Lakes Tunnel — would home a brand new twin pipeline in a concrete tunnel buried deep beneath the lakebed. Consultants have acknowledged this resolution would just about get rid of the opportunity of a leak. Higher but, the US$500-million mission can be carried out with zero taxpayer {dollars}, all whereas avoiding additional disruptions to weakened vitality markets.

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The Authorities of Canada has demonstrated help for the continued operation of Line 5 by invoking the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty, which has introduced the U.S. federal authorities to the desk. We should proceed to induce decision-makers to get behind the simplest environmental and financial resolution to this dispute — well timed development of the Line 5 Tunnel.

Closing Line 5 solely causes issues — for the environment, our economic system and taxpayer pocketbooks. As an alternative of extra uncertainty, let’s enact options that strengthen our vitality future, place us for financial prosperity and supply one of the best safety of our Nice Lakes.

— Rocco Rossi is president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Jim Holcomb is president and CEO of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce