Putting Faces to B.C.'s 'Radical' Environmentalists

... and nary a dreadlock in sight.

Public hearings on Enbridge's planned Northern Gateway pipeline open today, just days after Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver penned an open letter criticizing "environmental and other radical groups" for daring to oppose construction of the oil pipeline. And now the same newspaper that printed that letter is running a neat little feature on just who these "radicals" opposing the pipeline are. Far from the long-haired, tree-hugging flower children that Oliver surely sees whenever he hears the word "protester," the three northern B.C. men profiled by the Globe are all, well, kinda conservative, actually. Granted, Oliver's words seemed to be more geared toward American philanthropic organizations, such as the Wilburforce Fund, that have donated money to legal groups fighting against the pipeline's creation, but when you paint in such broad strokes, important distinctions (local conservationist businessmen vs. radicals) tend to get a bit blurred. Anyhow, we recommend you click through to put faces to the people at the centre of this controversy. You'll be hearing about it for a long, long time to come.