Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, Canada has so many issues at play with the United States at any given time. Pipelines are front and centre right now, given in part by President Biden’s decision to stop the Keystone XL project. But also looming is the threat to Enbridge’s important Line 5 pipeline. As you know well, the Governor of Michigan has effectively ordered the closure of that pipeline by May.

The impact on jobs and energy supply is serious — thousands of jobs lost on both sides of the border. According to the St. Lawrence Corridor Economic Development Commission, Line 5 supplies over 45% of the petroleum refined in Ontario and Quebec. Pearson Airport in Toronto, the busiest in our country, relies 100% on jet fuel produced by Line 5.

To replace the volume of oil moved through Line 5 if closed down, the equivalent will have to be shipped by either 2,000 trucks or 800 rail cars every day. The implications are serious and wide-ranging, both financially and environmentally.

I know that the government is seized with this issue and has strategies for working through this crisis.

Senator Gold, among the tools and tactics, might the Government of Canada consider invoking article 9 of the 1977 bilateral Agreement between the Government Of Canada and the Government of the United States Of America Concerning Transit Pipelines to press the issue of arbitration, if necessary, as a matter of international obligation?

Thank you, Your Honour; no supplementary.