Cumulative Impacts Frack Attack? Double Homicide in “No Duty of Care” AER and Gerard Protti’s Fox Creek Blanket Approval Pilot Project

Is this a cumulative impacts frack attack? Is murder covered under Alberta’s legally immune – even for acts in bad faith, “No duty of care” Energy Regulator, the AER?

RCMP Investigate Multiple Stabbing at Fox Creek Work Camp by RCMP Media Relations, June 30, 2015

Fox Creek, Alberta – At approximately 1:50 a.m. on Tuesday, June 30th, 2015, Fox Creek RCMP members responded to calls involving a man armed with a knife attacking people at a work camp in Fox Creek. RCMP members attended the scene and located two deceased persons.

Officers then located and engaged a man armed with a knife. This resulted in officers discharging their firearms. The man was wounded during the altercation and is currently being treated.

Edmonton RCMP Major Crimes Unit is on scene and have taken carriage of the double homicide investigation.

Victims have not been identified pending notification of next of kin.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating the discharge of the RCMP officers’ firearms. This is in accordance with their mandate to effectively, independently, and objectively investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person as well as sensitive allegations of police misconduct.

For information purposes only, Approximate location of the Berland Camp in the AER’s Fox Creek Blanket Approval Pilot Project Area:

2015 06 30 Approx location Berland Camp, where double homicide, within playbased, blanket approval, AER Gerard Protti Fox Creek pilot project

2015 01 29 AER Map Fox Creek blanket approval play with quakes plotted by CATalyzethis.ca

Map above does not include the more recent frac quakes, including the second 4.4M

Two people killed in knife attack at Alberta work camp: RCMP by Slav Kornik and Emily Mertz, June 30, 2-05, Global News

An investigation is underway at an Alberta work camp after two people were killed in what RCMP say was a knife attack. … The RCMP was called at about 1:50 a.m. Tuesday to the Berland Open Camp. Officers found two people dead when they arrived at the camp.

RCMP members then found a man armed with a knife. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team said a confrontation occurred and the man was shot. The 28-year-old man was taken by STARS air ambulance to an Edmonton hospital where he remained in serious condition Tuesday evening. RCMP believe the man acted alone and are not looking for any other suspects.

RCMP Major Crimes Unit is at the camp investigating the double homicide. ASIRT is investigating the police shooting. “It’s really a two-pronged approach,” said Cpl. Carol McKinley. “We still are maintaining the scene at the camp as well as attempting to interview a number of people who would have been at site and available to provide us information in terms of what happened.”

The two victims haven’t been identified. Autopsies will be scheduled for later this week.

Berland Open Camp is southwest of Fox Creek which is 263 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

“The people are astonished,” said Fox Creek Mayor Jim Ahn, “they’re shocked that something like this would happen in our area.

“My heart goes out to the family and friends of the victims.”

[WELCOME TO THE AER’S LEGALLY IMMUNE, “NO DUTY OF CARE” BLANKET APPROVAL FRACK FRENZY PILOT PROJECT

CUMULATIVE ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS ASSESSMENTS? 

PLANNING AND MITIGATION OF THOSE IMPACTS? 

NONE.

Ask Gerard Protti (who for years when he was Chair of CAPP and Encana VP, pushed for massive deregulation and blanket approval for unconventional oil and gas and was later put into position of authority to slide it into action) and Jim Ellis for details.]

Fox Creek is an industrial town that is home to just over 2,100 people. However, an additional 10,000 people stay in hotels or work camps in town or surrounding the community.

Emergency services are set up to respond to a population of about 2,000. [Emphasis added]

Double Homicide at Fox Creek Oil and Gas Camp by Kasi Johnston, June 30, 2015, 96.7 The Rig

96.7 Rock, The Rig logo

Update: Canada North Camps have confirmed an incident involving the RCMP occurred at the Berland Open Camp near Fox Creek.

Two people are dead after an overnight stabbing at an oil and gas camp about 50 kilometres south of Fox Creek. Mounties attended the scene just before 2am after reports of a man armed with a knife attacking people in the area.

RCMP Media Relations Corporal Sharon Franks says officers located the man shortly after. The victims have not been identified, and the status of the suspect is unknown at this time.

ASIRT is investigating the weapon discharge, and Edmonton Major Crimes Unit is taking over the investigation of the double homicide.

There were no other injuries reported from the incident. Updates will be provided as they become available.

Two dead in multiple stabbing at Alberta work camp by Michael Franklin, June 30, 2015, CTV Calgary

RCMP says they’ve arrested one man in connection with a multiple stabbing at an Alberta work camp that has left two people dead.

At about 1:50 a.m. on Tuesday, police responded to a workforce housing camp southwest of Fox Creek for reports of a man, armed with a knife, attacking people. When officers arrived at the camp, named Berland Open Lodge, they found two people dead.

“They located two deceased persons and shortly thereafter, located a male armed with a knife,” said Cst. Jason Curtis with the RCMP. “An altercation ensued and police firearms were discharged at the male.”

The man was struck and injured by the gunfire. The RCMP were not injured.
Edmonton RCMP Major Crimes is at the scene and is taking over the double homicide investigation.

The victims have not been identified.

Officials overseeing the camp say they are aware of a serious incident at the camp that involved a fatality. “We have been in contact with our camp people and with the RCMP,” says Tyler McCracken, the executive VP of DJ Catering, a sister company of Canada North, which operates Berland Open.

McCracken says the camp is a standard workforce housing camp and they have clients and their staff at the camp. He says that the number of people at the camp vary depending on the season. “This time of year, it’s typically a little bit slower, but it can anywhere from three or four staff to, well Berland isn’t that big of a camp so we wouldn’t see more than 15 to 20 staff at any given time.”

He says that they’re now waiting for the RCMP to complete their investigation into the incident and are asking everyone to remain patient. “They need to contact the victims and go through all the procedures that comes along with something of this severity.”

McCracken says that all camps have responsible people in position, but not all of them have devoted security personnel. “It’s not common that you would have a security guard and certainly not an armed security guard.”

He says that the situation on Tuesday morning is very difficult. “We typically would not see an incident like this in our industry.” [Perhaps Blanket Approval induced with more to come? Did the AER ensure companies being given massive deregulation and profit enhancement by Gerard Protti in the Fox Creek Frac Frenzy Pilot Project appropriately assess all negative cumulative impacts of “blanket approval” and put complete mitigation plans in place? Doesn’t look like, see below about “the plan.”]

“My understanding is that everyone who was on site is going to be questioned and beyond that, I don’t know what the plan will be. I assume a number will want to return home. We will be making available whatever services we can to help our staff.”

McCracken says that those services include but are not limited to counseling. [Wouldn’t proper preventative Blanket Approval cumulative impacts assessment and mitigation have been better?]

In a further statement issued on Tuesday, DJ Catering Ltd. said:

We were deeply saddened by the incident that occurred today at one of our locations. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s families at this time. The RCMP will provide any further updates with respect to the investigation.

ASIRT is also stepping in to investigate the incident that resulted in the discharge of the RCMP officers’ firearms.

“The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is responding and will be investigating the use of police firearms against the suspect,” said Cst. Curtis. “The suspect is in custody and is receiving treatment, but I do not have information on the extent of his injuries.”
The investigation is ongoing and police say autopsies have been scheduled for later in the week

Fox Creek is located approximately two and a half hours northwest of Edmonton.
(With files from CTVEdmonton.ca)

Two killed in Fox Creek stabbing; suspect wounded and arrested by Pamela Roth with files from Tom Bateman, Postmedia News, June 30, 2015, Edmonton Sun
Several work camps are scattered throughout the region, providing housing for those working in the oil, gas and foresty industry in remote locations. Some of the camps can accommodate as many as 2,000 to 3,000 workers.

Tyler McCracken, executive VP for Canada North and DJ Catering – the company that owns and operates the Berland camp – wouldn’t comment on the incident, but said the facility operates like a hotel that can accommodate between 150 to 200 people.

The camp is made up of modular living accommodations complete with a kitchen, diner and recreational facilities. Its residents – who work for various companies – typically stay for one to 21 days. “The guys get up early, they work really hard all day and they come back…there typically isn’t a lot of time for being bored,” said McCracken. “Our hearts go out to the victims and their families and we just ask everyone for patience as the RCMP goes through the investigation.”

Some of the workers evacuated from the camp are now staying at a hotel in the town where counselors were on hand Tuesday morning. About a dozen men, some wrapped in blankets, looked visibly distraught as they sat in the hotel lobby.

Residents of Fox Creek were shocked, but not surprised to hear about the violence close to the town of 2,000 people.

Michelle, who did not want to publish her last name, has lived in Fox Creek for 25 years and has noticed some big changes with all the oilfield workers stopping in to drink and shop. In 2013, Fox Creek RCMP estimated there was an additional 8,000 people working in the area. “(There’s) haywire guys in the bars causing fights, hospital emergency rooms full with the camp workers steady…What if this guy decided to go off the deep end while he was in town?” said Michelle. “I love my town and am glad things are causing growth, but all these extra workers make me feel a little overwhelmed at times…Lots of people think it was just a matter of time before something like this happened.” [And perhaps, if the AER gave any “duty of care,” and appropriate cumulative effects were assessed and mitigated, the murders could have been prevented]

One man, who did not want his name printed, has owned and managed several hotels in Fox Creek during the past 40 years and has noticed the town is now very transient. Violence is nothing new, he said, and usually involves guns and drugs. “There’s drugs flowing in here steady. You can see it every day. In the parking lot somebody will pull in here. A guy will pick up a pound of whatever or a bag of pills,” said the man, who lived in camps near Fort McMurray in the early 1970s. “They were always sardine cans. People just don’t like them. Sometimes the jobs last 21 days and it’s 12-hour days. That’s what runs people down.”

Those working in the province’s oil and gas industry say it was only a matter of time before something serious happened at one of the remote work camps, but they never thought it would be as drastic as a double homicide.

“The people that work out there . . . They are rig hands, they are rough around the edges, but I never thought anyone would get murdered,” said Tyler, who grew up in Fox Creek and did not want to publish his last name.

Working as a safety officer, Tyler has stayed at the Berland Open Camp, located 50 km from Fox Creek, three times in the past seven years. The longest stay was two months.

The camp is now the scene of a double homicide after two men were fatally stabbed early Tuesday morning. A man armed with a knife was later located and shot by police, and is currently being treated for his injuries. Police have not said whether the man was staying at the camp.

According to Tyler, workers checking in at the camp have to write down what oil company they work for, who their supervisor is and their supervisor’s number in case of any bad behaviour.

Most of the people keep to themselves and the camp is dry (no alcohol), he added, but with it being fairly close to Fox Creek, drinking was an issue, especially on weekends. Nonetheless, Tyler never felt his safety was threatened. “They all know that if they get caught for anything out there that it’s the end of their job, especially in a time like this where if you are working that’s a good thing,” he said. “It was always inevitable something was probably going to happen. It’s just the nature of the business – people are under a lot of stress and you’re away from your families and away from your home, but still, it just floors me. I never expected this.”

As news about the stabbing spread on social media sites, so did speculation on the circumstances. Some wondered whether alcohol and drugs were involved, or if anyone they knew was staying at the camp. Others feared going back to work at other camps.

Jason Gray spent two years working security in camps in the Fort McMurray, Cold Lake and Conklin areas, and described some of them as “pressure cookers, full of people waiting to explode.”

“Especially the dry camps,” wrote Gray on a Facebook post. “Sadly, I’m surprised it took this long for something like this to happen.”

Since shots were fired by police, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is now investigating. Occupational Health and Safety has also been notified and will determine if they will conduct an investigation as well. [Emphasis added]

Two killed in knife attack at Fox Creek, Alberta work camp; police shoot, wound suspect by Otiena Ellwand, Postmedia News, June 30, 2015, Financial Post
Two people are dead after a knife attack at a work camp near Fox Creek, Alberta, about 260 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, early Tuesday morning, RCMP say.

Police were called to the Berland open camp east of Fox Creek about “a man armed with a knife attacking people.”

Two people were found dead at the scene.

Police fired their weapons after finding the suspect armed with a knife. It’s not known if the man was staying at the camp at the time.

The man was wounded “during the altercation” and is being treated, RCMP said in a news release Tuesday morning. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating the officer-involved shooting.

The Berland camp is like a hotel where contractors working in the area stay for one day to three weeks on average, said Tyler McCracken, a manager for DJ Catering, the company that owns and operates the camp.

The contractors work for various companies, he said.

McCracken wouldn’t go into specifics about the incident, but said the company will co-operate fully with RCMP.

“It is obviously a very serious incident and the focus needs to be on the RCMP and their ability to do the investigation,” he said.

“We’re very conscious and concerned about the … mental safety and health of our people.”

The Edmonton RCMP Major Crimes Unit is on scene and is handling the double homicide investigation.

The victims will not be identified until their next of kin can be notified, RCMP said.

ASIRT investigates incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as sensitive allegations of police misconduct.

Two people killed in knife attack at work camp near Fox Creek, police say by Otiena Ellwand, June 29, 2015, Edmonton Journal

Two people killed in knife attack at work camp near Fox Creek, police say

Shortly before 2 a.m., Fox Creek RCMP members received calls about “a man armed with a knife attacking people at a work camp.”

Two people are dead after a knife attack at a work camp near Fox Creek early Tuesday morning, RCMP say.

Police were called to the Berland open camp east of Fox Creek on ANC Road about “a man armed with a knife attacking people.”

Two people were found dead at the scene.

Police fired their weapons after finding the suspect armed with a knife. It’s not known if the man was staying at the camp at the time.

The man was wounded “during the altercation” and is being treated, RCMP said in a news release Tuesday morning. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating the officer-involved shooting.

The Berland camp is like a hotel where contractors working in the area stay for one day to three weeks on average, said Tyler McCracken, a manager for DJ Catering, the company that owns and operates the camp.

The contractors work for various companies, he said.

McCracken wouldn’t go into specifics about the incident, but said the company will co-operate fully with RCMP.

“It is obviously a very serious incident and the focus needs to be on the RCMP and their ability to do the investigation,” he said.

“We’re very conscious and concerned about the … mental safety and health of our people.” [Knowingly exposing workers and families to secret toxic oil and gas industry chemicals?]

The Edmonton RCMP Major Crimes Unit is on scene and is handling the double homicide investigation.

The victims will not be identified until their next of kin can be notified, RCMP said.

ASIRT investigates incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as sensitive allegations of police misconduct.

Fox Creek is located about 260 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

Double Homicide in Fox Creek by Lynden McBeth, June 30, 2015, My Town Today
Two people are dead after an early morning stabbing at a work camp several kilometers southwest of Fox Creek.

The suspect was wounded after RCMP members discharged their firearms. His conditions is not known at this time.

Constable Jason Curtis with RCMP “K” Division Communications on where the investigation now stands. RCMP are not aware of the suspect’s involvement in the camp, if he was a worker or if he was associated with the camp in another way.

The victims have not been identified. STARS Air Ambulance was dispatched to the scene but it’s not clear if they transported any patients.

Map Berland Oil Gas Camp Canada North

Berland Open Area:

East of Fox Creek, Alberta LAT/LONG: 54.095128, -117.373269 / 54°5’42.46″N 117°22’23.77″

LSD: 4-15-59-23-W5

Directions: Turn North onto ANC Road. Located at KM 154

Direct Phone: 780-446-1637

canada north Integrity

CANADA NORTH ETHICS HELPLINE

The Ethics Helpline is intended to encourage any individuals, including Employees, to report suspected or actual occurrence(s) of any illegal, unethical or inappropriate events, behaviours or practices that they may witness or be made aware of, without fear of reprisal or retribution. [What about by Jim Ellis and Gerard Protti at the AER?] Our Company is committed to maintaining the highest standard of ethics in the workplace. All individuals within our organization have the right to both safety and comfort in their work environment.

The program includes reporting of the following items:

Drug or alcohol use in the workplace
Harassment or intimidation by employees or clients
Any type of illegal or illicit activity
Inappropriate use of company assets or services

If you feel that any of the above situations are present in your workplace, you have the right to report the activity while maintaining anonymity and protection under the following policy guidelines:

The individual may choose to report the event either anonymously or through providing his/her identity.
The individual shall receive no retaliation or retribution for a report that was provided in good faith within the scope of the law, without malicious intent and so long as it was not made for the purpose of damaging the reputation of another individual or the organization.
The individual who makes a report that is not done in good faith is subject to disciplinary action that under certain circumstances may result in termination. [But not anyone at the AER or previously the ERCB, not even Jim Reid for lying about concerned citizens or Gerard Protti for pushing deregulated blanket approval across the province while lying to Albertans about it?]
Any individual who retaliates against an individual who reported an event in good faith will be subject to disciplinary action.
Crimes against person or property, such as assault, rape, theft or other criminal activity should immediately be reported to the nearest law enforcement agency.
Any manager of the organization who receives an incident report shall act promptly to investigate and/or resolve the issue.
The identity of the individual, if known, shall remain confidential to those persons directly involved in applying this policy, unless the issue requires investigation by law enforcement.
All reported incidents shall be communicated and resolved using the Company’s prescribed procedures.
All reported incidents will be documented and logged.
Following an investigation, each reported incident will be assessed and managed for the appropriate action to be taken.

Regardless of the incident, all communication will be made in confidence, within the scope of the law. [But, what if the incident is under the legally immune AER’s Blanket Approval Pilot Project Area, soon to cover all of Alberta, crown and private lands? ]

Always remember you can make the difference in providing an ethical, secure and safe work environment for everyone. [Emphasis added]

[Refer also to:

2015 02 03: Sex, drugs and murder in oil country

A few years ago, the oil boom brought jobs, workers and money to Williston, N.D. But the influx of young men also brought a rise in crimes like prostitution, drug trafficking, theft, and even murder.

2014 05: The Economic, Social, and Environmental Issues of Hydraulic Fracturing by Dr. Michael Bradfield, panel member of Nova Scotia Frac Review. Much of Dr. Bradfield’s submission was not included in the final report [Too honest perhaps?  Too damning?]

Given the number, complexity, and uncertainty of the externalities and other issues involved in hydraulic fracturing…the appropriate regulation will be complex, difficult, and costly because it must be executed rigorously and with the highest Professional standards. The cost should be borne by the industry so that its private calculus reflects all of the social costs incurred.

The issues raised here indicate the many areas where more information is necessary to come to grips with the large and long-lasting impacts of hydraulic fracturing. [Emphasis added]

2014 04 12: Dark side of ND’s oil boom: Meth, heroin, cartels _ all part of growing drug trade

2014 02: Police playing catch up to oil patch crime increases, Despite a nearly-full staff of officers, Williston Police Chief Jim Lokken said law enforcement is still in reactive in the Bakken region

The Williams County Jail remains overbooked and law enforcement continues to battle the increase in crime brought on from an influx in population….

“We’ve got it all. Second and third DUI offenses, drugs, thefts all the way up to homicides and anything in between,”

2014 01 24: Murder, Mayhem and Mexican Mafia Stalk the Bakken Oil Fields

2012 04 23: As Bakken Oil Booms, Police Agencies Prepare for Change

The recent kidnapping and brutal murder of Montana teacher Sherry Arnold tragically underscored the changes brought on by the rapid pace of drilling. Two men are in custody, but the case has left residents shaken and led to a huge rise in applications to carry concealed weapons in Montana and North Dakota.

In the wake of Arnold’s killing in the town of Sidney, which is quickly being overtaken by the boom, federal prosecutors began a two-day retreat Monday in Glasgow for about 150 police, sheriffs, federal agents and other law enforcement to craft a common strategy to deal with rising crime.

Mercer Armstrong with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the areas of southern Canada within the Bakken have seen a ‘major influx of criminality.’  That includes organized criminal enterprises from British Columbia moving into rural areas to establish the drug trade, he said.

2006 09 11: Oilpatch money, cocaine and murder

‘Everything I ever wanted, I had. But it didn’t take long to piss it all away.’

Dallas Mitchell

This entry was posted in Global Frac News. Bookmark the permalink.