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Contents Sour Gas: Alberta Stand-Off Contents Sour Gas: Alberta Stand-off The violence and alleged terrorism that occurred in the Alberta oil fields is a case study in the complex phenomenon of provocation, intensification, and confrontation. It is also a case study of the ability of the media and the public to ascertain the facts through the best information available. At the centre of the story is Wiebo Ludwig whose fundamentalist Calvinist community is located in the middle of farm land to which the oil and gas industries--whose activities have been considered counterproductive to the lifestyle of farmers in the area--came in search of profits. The confrontation between farmers and the oil-gas industry also involves fundamental environmental and civil rights issues and highlights the need to examine the manner in which authorities enforce the Criminal Code of Canada. Introduction Confrontational Behaviour Up From the Ground Principles and Provocation My Cow Just Died. I Don't Want Your Bull Reaction or Overreaction? Lawful Behaviour Discussion, Research, and Essay Questions Other Related Videos Available from CBC Learning Does Your Resource Collection Include These CBC Videos? Sour Gas: Alberta Stand-off Standoff at Gustofsen Lake Temagami:The Last Stand After the Gold Rush There's Gold in Them There Hills Introduction Sour Gas: Alberta Stand-off At 4:00 a.m., Sunday, June 20, 1999, two pick-up trucks filled with teenagers entered a yard of an isolated farm 15 miles outside Hythe, Alberta. They drove through an open gate, saw a tent pitched on the lawn, and were turning around to leave when, according to them, three shots rang out from the direction of the farmhouse. Wiebo Ludwig, the owner of the farm, saw the events of that evening differently. He claims that the two pick-up trucks were racing around the farmyard in a reckless manner, coming within three metres of hitting the tent where four of his daughters, aged 9 through 20, were sleeping. The occupants of the truck yelled and threw beer cans at the house. According to Ludwig, someone from the farmLudwig maintains he doesn't know whopulled out a gun and shot at the trucks three times in self- defence. The two differing stories, however, had the same tragic end: 16- year-old Karman Willis was shot in the chest and died on her way to hospital. Another teen, 19-year-old Shaun Westwater, received a gunshot wound to the arm. The communities of Hythe and nearby Beaverlodge were outraged, and some people called for retribution. Others just wanted Ludwig and his family to leave the area once and for all. For this was not the first run-in area residents had had with Ludwig, it was just the latest and most tragic incident in an increasingly hostile confrontation between Ludwig, his neighbours, and the oil and gas industry in which many of them work. It was a climactic incident in a disturbing and complex story, begun three years earlier, that exemplifies a cycle of provocation, intensification, and confrontation Wiebo Ludwig, a fundamentalist Calvinist and former minister, and his friend Richard Boonstra had moved their families to Tickle Creek farm in 1985 in order to establish a self-sufficient community separate from mainstream society. They had little interaction with the local residents because they home-schooled their children, generated their own power, grew their own food, and made their own cheese, butter, and wine. The families grew to encompass 34 members who currently live on the farm. For a time, they lived in relative peace with their neighbours. Things changed, however, when the oil and gas industry started to drill wells close to the Tickle Creek property. Ludwig started to complain that sour gas emissions from 10 well sites surrounding his farm caused a wide range of family afflictions, including three miscarriages and a stillborn child, as well as abnormalities in his livestock. He became an outspoken critic of the oil and gas industry's practices, and many believe he, his family, and Boonstra are responsible for more than 160 unsolved incidents of vandalism, shootings, and bombings directed at oilpatch facilities over the past three years. Charges have been laid against members of both families for several of these incidents, but as of yet, there have been no convictions. Ludwig's public opposition to the oil companies has made him a pariah to many, and he claims that, because of his views, he has been a victim of vandalism, death threats, and a bomb attack. To some, however, Ludwig is an environmental crusader. Although unique in itself, the Ludwig situation highlights the ongoing tensions between the two pillars of Alberta's economy: agriculture and oil. Like a civilian in wartime, was Karman Willis the victim of a larger social conflict? Introduction Confrontational Behaviour Up From the Ground Principles and Provocation My Cow Just Died. I Don't Want Your Bull Reaction or Overreaction? Lawful Behaviour Discussion, Research, and Essay Questions Confrontational Behaviour Sour Gas: Alberta Stand-off "He is the epitome of the devil. He's evil." These were some of the words used to describe Wiebo Ludwig by one of the congregation members of a church in Goderich, Ontario, of which he was the pastor before moving to Alberta. The strong feelings expressed about Ludwig have not been uncommon. Media reports about Ludwig and his protests against the gas industry have also used words like evil, pariah, and holy terror. His critics would say he has made it easy for others to perceive him as extreme in his views, inordinately outspoken, and radically unconventional. In short, he has been viewed as unduly confrontational. This story involves considerable confrontation, and like all situations involving conflict, it can be difficult determining who "started it." "Us" and "Them" Is the clash in this news event over an environmental issue, or is it a question of judging motives and behaviour? Are people's views being challenged, or is it their way of life? Who is challenging whom? While watching the video for the first time, jot down ways in which the Ludwig family members might appear different from their neighbours. Name Calling In conflictswar in particular"the enemy" is often vilified. Iraq's Saddam Hussein has been compared to Satan and Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic to Hitler. President Ronald Reagan of the United States even referred to the former Soviet Union as "the evil empire." It is easier to define "the enemy" when we separate "them" from "us." By making people think that the enemy is different from "us," it is easier to create opposition to them. 1. To what extent do you feel Ludwig and his family have been accurately perceived and depicted? 2. When people are perceived and labelled as "extremists," what impact does this have on their message? Is there validity in any of the things Ludwig says? To what extent do you think his lifestyle becomes confused with his message? To what extent are they one and the same? Provocation, Intensification, and Confrontation Before watching the video for a second time, write the headings Provocation, Intensification, and Confrontation across the top of a piece of paper. Discuss with your classmates what each one of these words means. While watching the video for a second time, jot down details of events that would fit under each category. After viewing, discuss each of your entries with your classmates. In what ways are these three concepts related? Was there any disagreement within the class about where certain events should be listed? Is it possible that one event could fit into more than one category? Follow-up Discussion How would you define confrontational behaviour in general? What behaviour, if any, in this video did you find the most confrontational? Give reasons for your answer. Introduction Confrontational Behaviour Up From the Ground Principles and Provocation My Cow Just Died. I Don't Want Your Bull Reaction or Overreaction? Lawful Behaviour Discussion, Research, and Essay Questions Up From the Ground . Sour Gas: Alberta Stand-off In the 1960s television sitcom, The Beverley Hillbillies, Jed Clampett finds oil on his swampland and instantly becomes a millionaire. Although this fantasy scenario is possible in the United States, where the owner of the land also owns the mineral rights to any oil found on the property, it is not possible north of the border. In Canada, if oil is found on your land in many cases it may not be the beginning of a dream, but rather, of a nightmare. While reading the information below about the Canadian oil and gas industry, consider changes you think could lessen the tension between those working in agriculture and those working in the oil and gas industry in Alberta. In Canada, a farmer, or any landowner for that matter, only owns the topsoil. Any oil and gas found beneath the earth belongs to the state. The government then leases the mineral rights to an oil and gas company in exchange for royalties, and the company sets up an oil well. The owner of the land does not have a say in the process, although he or she is compensated for the inconvenience and lost productivity he or she may incur because of the well. The compensation amounts to approximately $5000 per well. Wells can be drilled in the middle of a farmer's field and as close as 100 metres from a farmer's house. There are no legislated limits to the number of oil wells that can be drilled in any given community. The scale of the industry is daunting. More than 230 000 oil and gas wells have been drilled on Alberta's agricultural land.
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