As if we hadn’t enough to worry about, Bill C-51 comes along to complicate things.

The fact that over 80 per cent of Canadians largely supports the government’s new anti-terrorist bill makes the legislation even more disturbing. And it makes us wonder whether the Idle No More demonstrations 15 months ago or the ongoing demonstrations against the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion suddenly marks many of us as ‘terrorists’.

Are the Tsleil-Waututh in canoes in Burrard Inlet terrorists? How about the T’Sou-ke people holding a summit on marine risks? Or the Stz’uminus blockading commercial geoduck harvesting? Or Halalt blockading the road through its reserve lands. Or the Snaw-naw-as doing likewise on the Island Highway?

Such worries arise because of an internal RCMP report titled ‘Criminal Threats to the Canadian Petroleum Industry’ that said the “anti-petroleum” movement was a growing violent threat to Canada’s security. The report said the movement “jeopardizes the health and safety of its participants, the general public and the natural environment.”

Well, it’s nice to know the RCMP is so concerned about the natural environment. But as the rhetoric heats up over fossil fuels in the Salish Sea as well as Bill C-51, actions will be taken on all sides. We can only hope that the true terrorists in the debate will be identified.