Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing – Dec 10, 2021

Do these folks deserve to be taken lightly?

The National Action and Strategy coordinator for Extinction Rebellion recently made these remarks, from my understanding on the heels of Dr. David Suzuki’s speech that he gave at an extinction rebellion protest in Victoria.  Now, Dr. Suzuki has apologized for his remarks regarding blowing up pipelines, but what is more concerning to me is that prominent figures continue to associate with and support this group, and others like it. Extinction Rebellion is a band of radical anti-energy activists that has previously been classified by the UK’s security services as an “extremist group.” 

So why does Canada treat them with kid gloves? 

Let’s be clear what the above statements are – they are a threat to bomb pipelines and execute democratically elected leaders that support the energy industry. Do these folks deserve to be taken lightly?

The member of the Legislative Assembly from Highlands Norwood in Edmonton, has on a number of occasions, promoted this organization, and has suggested that they should be brought into schools to help educate kids.  Ironically, this member once demanded I provide an apology for my remarks regarding comments, I made about the CERB program causing labor shortages, and repeating a conversation I had with a frustrated employer who was asking for the temporary foreign worker program to be opened again to meet the need. For context, CERB was spoiling a large segment of Canada’s workforce, and several reports have pointed this out – we are still seeing its effects over a year later.

You see, it’s offensive to have frank discussions about those who want to coddle these “Eco Warriors” but supporting and promoting extremist groups that make threats of killing elected officials and blowing up infrastructure is ok, as long as it’s in the name of protecting the environment.

Supporting them could very well lead to the loss of life, or a major environmental disaster

I recently had a conversation with a member of the opposition outside of the house about their interaction and ongoing support of Extinction Rebellion.  My concerns that I expressed to the member from Edmonton South was that his words and actions mattered more than mine to that group. They won’t listen to me, but they will listen to NDP members of the Legislature.  Supporting them, and failing to denounce their comments, or the comments of Dr. Suzuki, could very well lead to the loss of life, or a major environmental disaster.  Having worked in the pipeline industry I know full well the damage of blowing up a high-pressure gas line, oil line, or causing the release of sour gas in proximity to a community, residence, or in an environmentally sensitive area could have.  It gives me goose bumps, the lives that could be needlessly lost on their “righteous cause.”  The NDP member didn’t reply, and I’m not sure if it sank in or not, but he looked awfully sheepish. That same evening, the NDP voted 85% in favor of support of the statement made by Dr. Dave, which he himself apologized for days late.

“A rose by any other name.”

“A wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

These are sayings passed down for generations. The themes are not new. The types of people they were intended to warn against are just as common now as they were long ago.  The damage that they can cause now – the sheer numbers of lives that could be lost – is greatly magnified.  When I am receiving accounts from people in energy sector operations and construction, where they have to deal with sabotage attempts, people lighting of fires and digging up roads, theft, and the use of equipment to cause harm, it’s only a matter of time before one of these attempts isn’t caught in time.

Call to Action: NDP, please denounce Extinction Rebellion!

That’s why I’m calling for the NDP Members to denounce the actions of Extinction Rebellion and gear down their own rhetoric. If they don’t, at some point they’ll bare some responsibility for whatever comes of this. Responsible and accountable Members of the Legislative Assembly should not be part of this movement – they’re supposed to represent more than just the one side of these dangerous ideas.  If they are unable to do so, then I’d ask for more than an apology – I’d ask for them to step down as MLAs. Then they could be free to joining the protestors and suffer the consequences as they wish.

When 9/11 happened, I was on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range, working in the position of contracts coordinator for Ledcor Industrial.  We were the main contractor building a SAGD (Steam Assisted Gravity Drain) facility.  While we were on the project, we had open access to the air force base to use their fitness center, as did many members of the public. We were there so often it was easy to forget it was a fully functional base when it came to security. When 9/11 happened, the machine gun nests were visible, access was denied to the base, and the Hornets stationed there were swarming.  You couldn’t keep track of the sorties, and the sheer volume of USAF assets present.  Security around the energy assets was amped up as well, and several suspicious characters (from what I was told) were taken into custody.  We take for granted how safe we are here in Alberta, and how accessible our infrastructure really could be to domestic terrorism.  That experience, and working on projects down in the USA afterwards, with that heightened sense of terrorism threats, taught me better.

We take care of each other

We need to make sure that we take care of each other, and that we don’t let the wolves in sheep’s clothing fool us.  That they don’t lead others astray, or cause harm to innocents, or cripple our infrastructure, or hold hostage our freedom of movement. We all have had to deal with too many things over the last year – the world economy, supply chain issues in BC and North America, etc. We sure as heck don’t need a group running around willingly causing additional harm. So let’s nip this one in the bud, and deal with extremist groups as they should be dealt with. Don’t let them hide behind the cover of environmental conservation – they don’t plan on conserving anything.

Other articles on the same subject:

National Post View: David Suzuki highlights the dangerous lawlessness of climate activists

Chris Sankey – Twitter Posts

Vancouver Sun: Extinction Rebellion defends David Suzuki’s pipeline comments

For more information follow this link:

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/carbon-tax-going-up-alberta-presumably-upset

https://www.townandcountrytoday.com/local-news/carbon-tax-on-the-rise-3211115