Activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society prepare to throw glass projectiles containing butyric acid towards Japanese Research vessel, Yushin Maru No. 3, in the Antarctic in this handout photo taken on February 15, 2012.
Credits: REUTERS/The Institute of Cetacean Research/Handout
OTTAWA - The RCMP has issued a warning about a "growing radicalized environmentalist faction" in Canada, according to a report.
In a criminal intelligence assessment obtained by the Canadian Press, the national police force is reported to have listed potential dangers from environmental activists to offshore oil platforms and marine shipments.
The RCMP report is said to have noted a "growing radicalized environmentalist faction within Canadian society that is opposed to Canada's energy sector and policies."
It also reportedly cited recent protests off the coast of Greenland involving Greenpeace and how the demonstrations "highlight the need to be prepared for potential threats to the safety and security of offshore oil and gas platforms."
Greenpeace, which maintains it is peaceful environmental group, suggests authorities may "ignorant" or they may be telling Prime Minister Stephen Harper what he wants to hear.
"Our main value is not violence," said Yossi Cadan, a campaigns director for Greenpeace Canada who also suggested the RCMP's report is "definitely not based on fact" and the organization's history.
A spokeswoman for Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver said the government won't weigh in the RCMP's assessment.
"We don't comment on matters of security," Oliver's director of communications, Patricia Best, said. "The RCMP is an independent organization that makes its own assessments."



