http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=a 2668caa-8f94-4060-bec5-a0c95e3bdade Tower info scarce: Blast being probed, officials reiterate SUE MONTGOMERY The Gazette Wednesday, December 08, 2004 Everyone from the Public Security Department to the provincial police to Hydro-Quebec was tight-lipped yesterday about whether an attack on one of Hydro's towers involved explosives. "It's still under investigation," was the terse reply from all three bodies yesterday. The office of Public Security Minister Jacques Chagnon appeared to backpedal yesterday after his comments Monday on Radio-Canada that the sabotage involved explosives. "The tower was lifted a few feet, displaced a few feet, so it's clear it was an explosive," he said. But the minister's spokesperson, Daniel Thibeault, said yesterday that Chagnon offered up the idea as just one of many possible causes being examined. Louis-Philippe Ruel, of the Surete du Quebec, said the provincial police are waiting for lab results before commenting on the explosives theory. A group calling itself Initiative de resistance internationaliste sent e-mails to media outlets Sunday, claiming responsibility for the damage that was brought to Hydro-Quebec's attention Dec. 1 by residents in the area. The group, which had been unknown to the police and other environmental groups, like Greenpeace, says it opposes the pillaging of Quebec's resources for profit by the United States. The note referred to Iraqis, Palestinians and Colombians as examples of groups fighting against American imperialism. The damaged tower is in Coaticook, in the Eastern Townships, and is part of the line that supplies electricity to the U.S. "We take this incident very seriously and have increased our security around our most strategic installations," Hydro spokesperson Marie Archambault said, refusing to be more specific. Also yesterday, a terrorism expert said security-sensitive American authorities will watch closely as police search for the people who damaged the tower. Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a retired RCMP agent, said the incident will test Canada's ability to respond quickly to such an attack. "Unfairly, we've been singled out by right-wing elements down there. Therefore, anything that happens, they look to us, ready to accuse us of being lax." smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.797 / Virus Database: 541 - Release Date: 11/15/2004
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