Ottawa and Canadian security agencies are ignoring a threat posed by eco-extremists motivated by self-righteous climate change alarmism.
How many Manitobans remember that shortly after the federal government introduced emergency legislation against convoy protesters there was a real terrorist attack on a Coastal GasLink pipeline worksite in British Columbia?
About 20 masked assailants wielding axes entered a pipeline worksite and intimidated Coastal GasLink workers and caused millions of dollars of damage to equipment and vehicles.
While politicians and mainstream media were fixated on bouncy castles and hot tubs, armed fanatics were intimidating human beings with weapons and destroying energy infrastructure.
There was bare mention of it in the media. Politicians made cursory mention of it on social media. Unlike the convoy protests, there were no in-depth investigative pieces immediately after the eco-terrorist attacks against Costal GasLink.
Eventually some media picked up on this terror attack, but then downplayed it.
CBC’s Fifth Estate months later aired a program that attempted to disparage an RCMP unit meant to investigate extremist attacks on energy sector infrastructure. In a piece of over 40 minutes, less than a minute was devoted to exploring the February 2022 terror attack.
The CBC wrote more about the attack and did identify the culprits as anarchists but did not explore their ideological motivations. It was almost like they were just anarchists bent on destruction without a coherent ideology.
Perhaps if they would do a deep dive, they would discover that the anarchists believing they are helping an Indigenous resurgence have been raised on a diet of unscientific climate change alarmism.
I recently compiled research for a Frontier Centre study that looked at this looming eco-extremist threat.
Besides the Coastal GasLink attack, there are extremist groups like Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion (in Canada). Traffic disruptions caused by Just Stop Oil have already led to bodily harm and unnecessary deaths in the UK where traffic mayhem ensued over a stunt on a bridge.
Canada has a serious blind spot when it comes to extremism associated with the far left. CSIS and Public Safety Canada are endlessly fixated on extremism associated loosely with the right, like Incels or anyone concerned about forced injections via vaccine mandates.
In Canada, the threat comes from various “Indigeno-anarchists” who believe they are supporting Indigenous people even as they attack energy projects that help First Nation communities. I discovered these extremists teach and recruit at our universities. Many professors are activists who normalize terrorism against the energy sector. Many were involved in the 2019-2020 Wet’suwet’en rail blockades that opposed Coastal GasLink.
Winnipeg activists were certainly involved. During the Wet’suwet’en blockades, they engaged in five major actions in Manitoba, from a demonstration outside an RCMP station to an action where “Indigenous warriors” blocked CN and CP rail tracks for several hours.
Calling themselves anarchists, they engaged in acts that could cause bodily harm and affect people’s ability to travel on passenger trains. Here is a document confirming they intended to commit “railroad sabotage.” Anarchists also make open mention of acts of sabotage and damage to drill sites associated with Coastal GasLink.
Central to the problem is problematic and torqued up climate change rhetoric that is causing unnecessary fear and anxiety within the public and is radicalizing people. If you believe the “earth is on fire” – which is a false belief held by many activists – some become radicalized to commit damage property and threaten lives.
Manitobans and Canadians must address the looming eco-terrorist threat before it’s too late.
Joseph Quesnel is a Senior Research Fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
Related Items:
Watch Leaders on the Frontier – Opening the Door to Indigenous Prosperity (39 minutes), July 22, 2023.
Read:The Deadly Fruits Of Climate Change Alarmism (24 pages), March 19, 2024
Joseph Quesnel is a senior research fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
