Awhile back, there was an eco-terrorist that claimed all the same things these people are saying about their health. His name was Wiebo Ludwig and he was convicted of bombing a few oil and gas sites because he said they (oil & gas companies) wouldn't listen to him and that they were poisoning his family.
The ridicule and fall out after that from people in the oil and gas industry was intense in the Peace River region (I lived there for 5+ years during some of the time in question). He was vilified in the media which would have made sense if they were vilifying him for the bombings and vandalism, but they were vilifying him for his claims about how the health of his family was being affected. He was seen as a total loon. And NO ONE wanted to be associated with him in any way, shape or form.
In my opinion, it has taken this long for people to realize Wiebo may have actually had some legitimate complaints (though no one excuses what he did, least of all me since my then-husband very narrowly missed getting blown up since he worked at those same sites and missed one explosion by a few hours). People are just now starting to come out and speak up against the oil companies. It's hard to explain the hold these companies have on the population in those areas. Oil and gas is THE employer. And it's not just 'jobs' it's the quality of the jobs - the companies treat most employees very well, pay well, give extremely good benefits...I think until now people haven't really seen a downside, because the environmental damage is contained to certain areas, and the rest of the province has vast areas that are relatively untouched. The tide, however, is turning and people are getting concerned, you can even see it in the comments - 10 years ago that is not the response you would've had from a similar article.
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