When a handful of people from the Lakeland gathered on Oct. 26 for the Idle No More ceremonial walk, to raise awareness about the environmentally damaging and possibly groundwater contaminating oil spills on CNRL's Primrose site, and call for a more respectful and sensible approach to industrial development, they received a “mixed response.” The organizer said, some clearly showed support, while others felt “inconvenienced” by it.
Unfortunately, for those interested in maintaining a healthy environment, the view of the federal government and its security services towards peaceful protest and environmental activism is much less apathetic. Increasingly, we are seeing environmental movements painted as radical and a threat to national security.
In some cases, politicians have demonized environmental groups and those affiliated with them, using name-calling and intimidation in order to discredit groups and discourage others from further activism.
Jeffrey Monaghan of the Surveillance Studies Center at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. is quoted in The Guardian addressing documents released in January 2013 showing RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) classify any Canadian protests against the resource-based economy of the country, especially the fields of oil and gas production, as a national security threat and a “form of attack.”
“It's the new normal now for Canada's security agencies to watch the activities of environmental organizations,” Monaghan said.
The security documents analyzed by Monaghan were accessed under Freedom of Information laws.
Last year, Joe Oliver, Canada's Natural Resources Minister, in an “open letter” published in The Globe and Mail, referred to environmental groups and activists as “radicals” that have a “goal to stop any major project, no matter what the cost.”
He went on to say, “These groups threaten to hijack our regulatory system to achieve their radical ideological agenda.”
Could it be argued that industry and government are hijacking our regulatory and democratic systems?
As public involvement is a cornerstone of a proper democracy, shouldn't the passion for the environment Canadians are showing be applauded?
Since when did Canada, or more accurately, its government, become satisfied with its environmental protection work to the point it will claim rhetorically to be a “world leader” and no longer accept any criticism? Furthermore, the government and industry appear antagonistic towards finding better and more sustainable solutions to our energy needs.
How is it our government and its security services have managed to make it wrong to stand up for the environment and bully and intimidate those that do, yet regulations, enforcement and even an understanding of the ongoing destruction of the environment goes un-punished, or worse yet, unnoticed?
There are human rights protecting peaceful protest and free speech in this country. Perhaps the next step in Canada should be to entrench rights protecting the health and sustainability of the environment into our Constitution.
