RCMP claim of B.C. anti-pipeline extremists shocks native, environmental leaders

Report makes ‘false inferences,’ borders on ‘misguided hysteria’

By Peter O’Neil, Vancouver Sun, February 25, 2015

OTTAWA — An internal RCMP report’s portrayal of northern B.C. as one of two Canadian regions most vulnerable to violent, anti-pipeline extremists working with aboriginal radicals to sabotage “critical infrastructure” is “absolutely bizarre,” one of B.C.’s most outspoken First Nations leaders said Wednesday.

Stewart Phillip, head of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, has long espoused civil disobedience to defend First Nations rights and was recently arrested during an anti-pipeline protest on Burnaby Mountain.

Shell pulls plug on long-delayed oil sands mine

Shell station blocked by protesters at 12th & Clark in East Vancouver, Oct. 23, 2012.

Jeff Lewis, The Globe and Mail, Feb 23 2015

Royal Dutch Shell PLC has scrapped plans for a long-delayed oil sands mine, pulling the plug as oil prices skid to multi-year lows.

The European oil major said Monday that it is withdrawing its application with federal regulators for its 200,000 barrel-a-day Pierre River mine north of Fort McMurray, calling the project a “very long-term opportunity” that is not currently a priority.

Gogama crude oil spill worries nearby Mattagami First Nation

CN rail cars carrying oil derailed on Feb 14, 2015 near the community of Mattagami First Nation in northern Ontario.

Cleanup continues at the site of a CN train derailment northwest of Gogama, Ont.

CBC News, Feb 19, 2015

Mattagami First Nation is sounding the alarm about a CN rail spill near the community.

The First Nation said Saturday’s derailment involving 29 crude oil tankers occurred on its traditional territory, located 40 kilometres north of the community.

Ontario’s Regional Chief Stan Beardy is advocating for the community to make sure the site is cleaned, as he’s concerned about the spill causing environmental damage.

Canadian mounties’ secret memo casts doubt on climate change threat

Intelligence report identifies anti-petroleum movement as a threat to Canadian security and suggests those concerned with climate consequences occupy political fringe

by Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, Feb 18, 2015

The US security establishment views climate change as real and a dangerous threat to national security. But Canada takes a very different view, according to a secret intelligence memo prepared by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

The memo, stamped “Canadian eyes only”, repeatedly casts doubt on the causes of climate change – the burning of fossil fuels – and its potential threat.

9 weirdest things about this RCMP intelligence report on the “anti-petroleum movement”

by Press Progress, Feb 17, 2015

The Mounties always get their man.

But a newly disclosed intelligence assessment from the RCMP looking at the “anti-Canada petroleum movement” suggests the same might not always be true about their facts.

First reported in La Presse, and again Monday in the Globe and Mail, the RCMP report dated January 2014 warns of “a growing, highly organized and well-financed anti-Canada petroleum movement that consists of peaceful activists, militants and violent extremists who are opposed to society’s reliance on fossil fuels.”

California: Refinery explosion injures 4; shaking with magnitude of 1.7 earthquake

Aftermath of explosion at Exxon Mobile refinery in Torrance, California, Feb 18, 2015. Photo: LA Times.

Los Angeles Times, Feb 18, 2

Four workers suffered minor injuries after a large explosion Wednesday morning at the Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, according to an Exxon spokesman.

The explosion was the equivalent of a magnitude 1.7 earthquake, according to Caltech.

Residents in the area were asked by police to remain indoors after the explosion. That shelter-in-place order has been lifted, but a smoke advisory was issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Anti-Oil Activists Named as National Security Threats Respond to Leaked RCMP Report

Protest against Enbridge’s proposed Line 9, in Toronto.

By Michael Toledano, Vice.com, Feb 17, 2015

As the Harper government’s Bill C-51 moves to extend anti-terrorism legislation to include anyone who interferes with the “critical infrastructure,” “territorial integrity,” or “economic and financial stability of Canada,” a leaked report from the RCMP’s Critical Infrastructure Intelligence Team demonstrates how aboriginals and environmentalists are already being targeted by law enforcement for these reasons.

Train that derailed in West Virginia had newer crude oil tanker cars

A CSX Corp train burns after derailment in Mount Carbon, West Virginia pictured across the Kanawha River in Boomer, West Virginia February 16, 2015.  A CSX Corp train hauling North Dakota crude derailed in West Virginia on Monday, setting a number of cars ablaze, destroying a house and forcing the evacuation of two towns in the second significant oil-train incident in three days. REUTERS/Marcus Constantino

By Jeff Pegues, CBS News, Feb 17, 2015

MOUNT CARBON, W.Va. — A day after a train carrying three million gallons of crude oil derailed in West Virginia, firefighters are still waiting for the flames to die out — and a community is in turmoil. Investigators finally got closer to the crash scene on Tuesday.

As many as 28 of the 109 tank cars went off the tracks. Several ruptured, leaking crude oil. 911 calls sounded the alarm.

‘Anti-petroleum’ movement a growing security threat to Canada, RCMP say

Protest in Comox, BC, against Enbridge pipeline, 2012.

by Shawn McCarthy, The Globe and Mail, Feb. 17 2015

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.

“There is a growing, highly organized and well-financed anti-Canada petroleum movement that consists of peaceful activists, militants and violent extremists who are opposed to society’s reliance on fossil fuels,” concludes the report which is stamped “protected/Canadian eyes only” and is dated Jan. 24, 2014. The report was obtained by Greenpeace.

“If violent environmental extremists engage in unlawful activity, it jeopardizes the health and safety of its participants, the general public and the natural environment.”

B.C. LNG sponsorship inappropriate at All Native Basketball Tournament, team says

Team captain says he was told if the team didn’t like it, they didn’t have to participate

By Radio West, CBC News, Feb 13, 2015

The captain of a team playing at the All Native Basketball Tournament in Prince Rupert says he’s disappointed event organizers accepted sponsorship money from oil and gas industries.

This year’s tournament is sponsored by a dozen companies and organizations, half of them related to the energy sector.