This appears to be part of a disturbing pattern of monitoring by the Harper government of those who oppose its reckless oil and gas extraction agenda. In late 2011, the Toronto Star reported that an RCMP unit was created in early 2007 to monitor protests by First Nations, including those that would attract national attention or target critical infrastructure like highways, railways and pipelines, according to RCMP documents. The article highlights, The documents, obtained through access to information requests, include an RCMP slideshow presentation from the spring of 2009, which says the intelligence unit reported weekly to approximately 450 recipients in law enforcement, government, and unnamed industry partners in the energy and private sector. And late last year, the Vancouver Observer reported, Before the National Energy Boards Joint Review Panel hearings on the proposed Enbridge (Northern Gateway) oil pipeline, the NEB coordinated the gathering of intelligence on opponents to the oil sands. The groups of interest are independent advocacy organizations that oppose the Harper governments policies and work for environmental protections and democratic rights, including Idle No More, ForestEthics, Sierra Club, EcoSociety, Leadnow, Dogwood Initiative, Council of Canadians and the Peoples Summit. While the Harper government criminalizes protest, polls show that protests are actually popular among most Canadians. Polls have shown that 62 per cent of Canadians supported the Occupy movement, 56 per cent supported the protests in Quebec over increased tuition fees, and 40.6 per cent supported Idle No More. Further reading
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 19:13:01 +0000
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