Situation Background - Mayor & Councillors: You are a mayor in a small town in Chappel, British Columbia (BC)

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Situation Background - Mayor & Councillors:

You are a mayor in a small town in Chappel, British Columbia (BC). You and your colleagues on council have decided at a council meeting last night to declare that you will allow the new Kinder Morgan pipeline to pass within one kilometer of the town. The Kinder Morgan pipeline, which was finally approved by the Canadian Federal Government the week before, is the largest logistics project in decades that is intended to provide a supply line for crude oil from Alberta to be shipped to Asian markets from a storage and shipping terminals in Burnaby and Westridge BC. An extension of the pipeline will continue into Washington State thereby transferring oil to export markets in the US.

The pipeline's construction will bring hundreds of highly skilled jobs to the community and while it is being build and an equal number of service related jobs support the project. Local accommodations, food service and retailers are expected to benefit as well. The pipeline will be fenced off as it passes the community and will have state-of-the-art leak and damage monitoring systems to protect the environment from possible leaks or spills. Several councillors are business owners and therefore are very supportive of ventures that will bring business to the community.

Although several environmental groups along the route have been very vocal in opposing the project and a few "activists" have made presentations to council urging their rejection of the proposed construction and location of the pipeline, the rest of the community has taken little notice; expecting that the pipeline would not be approved. However, the community has been quiet - until now.

You have just received a call from an anonymous member of the public that a very large group of angry constituents are on their way to your house. In fact, this group of residents are marching down the main street of town now on their way to where you and your family live, which is about 45 minutes down the road from your office. Evidently there are about 150 people chanting: "That's what we get, a pipeline pit, while councillors get the benefit". Some of the residents are waving oil cans and signs denouncing individual councillors, threatening to dump oil on the lawn of the mayor and councillors shouting, "You make the mess - now clean it up"! The situation is very volatile and potentially dangerous.

The local media have been alerted and they are following the mob taking pictures and interviewing part of the contingent.

You have 30 minutes to get ready for their arrival. You must rush home and prepare to negotiate with the angry oil can waving masses.