Time to tighten petroleum security

Commentary by Mac Olsen

The four bombings against EnCana Corp. gas pipelines near Tomslake, B.C. should serve as a wakeup call to the oil companies in the Peace River region that they should increase security at their facilities. Three bombings were carried out at the EnCana facilities in October 2008 and another was committed Jan. 4. The RCMP has no suspects in the case. If the oil companies in the Peace River region have reviewed their security procedures and tightened them, fine. But, it cannot be overemphasized those doing the bombings are capable of causing unimaged environmental damage and killing innocent people. Landowners who have oil rigs on their land should consult with the oil companies and determine what measures to take. It is also my hope the provincial government and RCMP are making resources available to ensure any plots to target this region are thwarted. This not fear mongering; I am simply pointing out the reality of the situation, given there is so much oil activity here. It’s in everybody’s interests to ensure the security of petroleum operations, no matter what size they are, or where they are. This should also put environmental activists and groups on notice that their causes could be damaged if it turns out extremists among them are carrying out eco-terrorism. According to Wikipedia.org, eco-terrorism, also called green terrorism, is terrorism committed in support of ecological, environmental or animal rights causes. Environmental groups that use legitimate protests and court actions against the oil companies are one thing, because they are engaging in civilized conduct to address their grievances. Government must address their concerns as well. However, if an environmental group knows who is behind the bombings, they should report them to the RCMP and distance themselves from these terrorists. Otherwise, they would have to deal with any public backlash if it turns out they had or have knowledge of the perpetrators and willingly let them go ahead with their plans. One only has to look at Wiebo Ludwig, who was convicted of sabotaging oil and gas wells. According to Wikipedia, Ludwig accused the industry of poisoning his family and farm, and being responsible for his daughter’s miscarriages, through its attempts to extract toxic sour gas from the Peace River region of Alberta. In April 2001, Ludwig was convicted on five charges related to bombings and vandalism against oil and gas installations, which caused millions of dollars of damage. He was sentenced to 28 months in prison and was paroled after serving two-thirds of his sentence. However, Ludwig should have been given life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was not a hero, he was criminal. What motivates someone to bomb pipelines is immaterial. The fact is, they are terrorists - nothing more, nothing less. They have no regard for private property, not to mention the health and safety risks they put others at with their heinous acts. Terrorism of any kind – eco-terrorism, the terrorism carried out by Muslim extremists like al-Qaida and the Taliban, the Oklahoma City bombing carried out by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols in April 1995 etc. – is never justified. Ever. Thus, it’s important for the public, environmental groups, governments and the RCMP to be vigilant and prevent pipeline bombings like that carried out in Tomslake, B.C.

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