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It was revealed that a Canadian company – Enbridge has “reimbursed” $2.4 million to US police for the arrests and surveillance of hundreds of demonstrators opposing its Line 3 pipeline, the Guardian reported after obtaining documents through a public records request.
Enbridge is replacing the Line 3 pipeline through Minnesota to carry oil from Alberta to the tip of Lake Superior in Wisconsin. The new pipeline carries a heavy oil called bitumen, doubles the capacity of the original to 760,000 barrels a day and carves a new route through pristine wetlands.
Climate group MN350 claims that the expanded pipeline will emit the equivalent greenhouse gases of 50 coal power plants.
The Canadian-based company’s president and CEO, Al Monaco, said in a statement that the pipeline “will soon deliver the low-cost and reliable energy that people depend on every day.”
The project was completed despite stiff opposition from tribes, environmentalists and others who argued that the 1,765-kilometer) pipeline, including the 542-kilometer segment across Minnesota, would violate treaty rights, worsen climate change and risk spills in waters where Native Americans harvest wild rice.
They note it would carry oil from Alberta’s tar sands, a heavier crude that consumes more energy and generates more carbon dioxide in the refining process than lighter oil, making it an even bigger contributor to climate change.
None of that matters, however, since it appears money trumps anything.
To guarantee that the project was completed, police arrested more than 900 demonstrators opposing Line 3 and its impact on climate and Indigenous rights, according to the Pipeline Legal Action Network.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, which regulates pipelines, decided rural police should not have to pay for increased strain from Line 3 protests. As a condition of granting Line 3 permits, the commission required Enbridge to set up an escrow account to reimburse police for responding to demonstrations.
Enbridge told the Guardian an independent account manager allocates the funds, and police decide when protesters are breaking the law.
Records obtained by the Guardian show a close working relationship between Enbridge and police.
In December 2020, Cass county’s sheriff’s office began “proactive safety patrols” of communities along the pipeline route. Up to August 6th, 2021 the Enbridge account reimbursed the sheriff $849,163.40 for these patrols.
Tom Burch, Cass county sheriff, wrote in his request for reimbursement that a Cass county supervisor was assigned to the project and met several times daily with Enbridge public safety liaison staff to discuss safety concerns, intelligence gathering and public safety initiatives for the day.
Asked if the company is directing police, an Enbridge spokesperson, Michael Barnes, wrote in an email: “Officers decide when protesters are breaking the law – or putting themselves and others in danger.”
As such it turns out that police protected the private interests of the company to realize the pipeline.
In comparison, the repeatedly sanctioned Nord Stream 2 was constructed completely legally, receiving all necessary permits, while being heavily scrutinized.
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Protesters get arrested for less in Russia, so how is this any different? China is much more authoritarian than either.
These environmentalists are unaware there is no reason to oppose the construction of this pipeline, since there is no such thing as clean energy on an industrial scale. Alternatively known as Green Energy, this too is a highly polluting industrial process and is no doubt damaging to the environment.
Planet of the Humans https://youtu.be/Zk11vI-7czE
In spite of Michael Moore’s politics and grotesque obesity, one of his older documentaries ‘Planet of the Humans’ shows how green energy is a bloated industry built on the false premise it is environmentally sustainable. I trust Ted Kaczynski and Pentti Linkola over any bloated industry reliant on tax-funded rackets to remain afloat.
https://i.imgur.com/hzwFbt1.png
“Protesters get arrested for less in Russia” nonsense. Russian police and courts are waaaay too lenient. No police is more brutal and aggressive than American (not even French). US judicial system is the most extreme apparatus of brute force against its own people, no surprise America has the most prisoners in the world by far. Not even “authoritarian”, it is 100% tyrannical.
I believe you missed the main point – the article is an example of a privatization of a, presumably, public U.S. service by a foreign private corporation. And for the ordinary americans – this should be a big problem.
Yeah why not we got the best goons on the planet.
Given the state of the Canadian economy it is unsurprising they would resort to any means necessary including bypassing indigenous peoples rights.
Enbridge is a scumbag corporation supplying low quality garbage to the US. The sludge from alberta is basically a ponzi scheme. More energy/cost required to refine than the value of the finished product itself.