Tuesday, February 17, 2015

And For Those Who Think Bill C-51 Is A Good Thing

Think again.
The RCMP has labelled the “anti-petroleum” movement as a growing and violent threat to Canada’s security, raising fears among environmentalists that they face increased surveillance, and possibly worse, under the Harper government’s new terrorism legislation.
In highly charged language that reflects the government’s hostility toward environmental activists, an RCMP intelligence assessment warns that foreign-funded groups are bent on blocking oil sands expansion and pipeline construction, and that the extremists in the movement are willing to resort to violence.
The report, dated January 24, 2014, was obtained by Greenpeace and uses the kind of language one would expect from a police force that has become deeply politicized.

[M]ilitants and violent extremists who are opposed to society’s reliance on fossil fuels, and violent environmental extremists are but two of the phrases that should give all of us pause.

The RCMP issued their usual disclaimers, averring that they do not surveil peaceful groups. Said RCMP spokesman Sergeant Greg Cox:
“There is no focus on environmental groups, but rather on the broader criminal threats to Canada’s critical infrastructure. The RCMP does not monitor any environmental protest group. Its mandate is to investigate individuals involved in criminality.”
Yet, perhaps tellingly,
... Sgt. Cox would not comment on the tone of the January, 2014, assessment that suggests opposition to resource development runs counter to Canada’s national interest and links groups such as Greenpeace, Tides Canada and the Sierra Club to growing militancy in the “anti-petroleum movement.”
For a force whose mandate is public safety, the report veers into areas that can only be described as economic and political:
The report extolls the value of the oil and gas sector to the Canadian economy, and adds that many environmentalists “claim” that climate change is the most serious global environmental threat, and “claim” it is a direct consequence of human activity and is “reportedly” linked to the use of fossil fuels. It echoes concerns first raised by Finance Minister Joe Oliver that environmental groups are foreign-funded and are working against the interests of Canada by opposing development.
Just coincidence that the language echos that of Joe Oliver?
“This document identifies anyone who is concerned about climate change as a potential, if not actual – the lines are very blurry – ‘anti-petroleum extremist’ looking to advance their ‘anti-petroleum ideology,’” said Keith Stewart, a climate campaigner for Greenpeace.
Greenpeace, and the rest of us, should be very, very concerned.


Are these the faces of the new terrorists?

4 comments:

  1. Elizabeth May is entirely justified in suggesting that Harper has politicized the Mounties, Lorne. The police state is taking shape.

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    1. The more I read about May, Owen, the more impressed I am with her. She seems to be the only one speaking up for ordinary Canadians, despite the claims of the other opposition leaders.

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  2. The Royal Conservative Mounted Police are as bent as a two-penny nail and have been at least as far back as Zaccardelli. That a commissioner could pull a partisan stunt like the Ralph Goodale election bomb hoax and then flatly refuse to answer to anyone for it is, in my opinion, persuasive proof of a corrupted national police agency. Then they went from Zacc to a veteran Tory backroomer, Bill Elliott, until the RCMP was in such a mess it had to be entrusted to Paulson. Under Paulson's reign, senior officers were banned from socializing or even speaking with MPs and Senators lest the truth of Duffy-Wright get out. What those senior officers made of it was obvious when one of them leaked Paulson's e-mail to CBC. Then we have this less than transparent investigation that results in one person being charged with accepting a bribe but everyone else let off the hook including the person who gave the bribe and the PMO lawyer who negotiated the deal.

    When the RCMP meet with Big Oil twice a year to hand over intelligence and get orders for their next surveillance targets, their denials of suppressing dissent ring very hollow. If there was ever an organization so beyond redemption that it needed nothing short of a purge of its senior ranks, it's the RCMP.

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    1. All is not well, Mound, except in Harper's petro-state,.

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