On Monday, Canada invoked a treaty with the U.S. and requested that a judge pause litigation over Michigan’s attempts to shut down a Great Lakes oil pipeline.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, both Democrats, said that a portion of the pipeline is an imminent oil spill danger to the Great Lakes and should be closed. The section, Line 5, runs on the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, which connects lakes Huron and Michigan at the top of the state’s Lower Peninsula.
An attorney representing Canada said in federal court that the treaty’s dispute settlement process must trigger a pause in any pending lawsuits. Whitmer said she was disappointed with the move to invoke the treaty.
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