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Misty » 29 Feb 2020 4:21 pm » wrote:Disgusting Sticker Of 'Greta Thunberg' Linked To Alberta Oil Company Shocks Canadians

Michelle Narang cried when she first saw a sticker of what appears to be a drawing of teen activist Greta Thunberg being sexually assaulted and the name of an oilfield company printed boldly across the bottom of the decal.

Narang, who lives in Rocky Mountain House in west-central Alberta, is a proud supporter of Canadian energy.

Her relatives earn a living in the oil industry, which also supports the non-profit she works for.

She calls the investment that oil and gas companies make in communities, like her town, “beautiful.”

“This is an industry Alberta is fighting for so desperately.

This sticker is not something Alberta or Albertans need,” Narang told HuffPost Canada in an interview Thursday.

Narang decided she couldn’t stay silent.

As someone who knows survivors of sexual assault, she never wants her 13-year-old son to see the sticker, or be OK with violence against women.

So, she posted the image to Facebook as a way to call it out: “This company represents everything that the [oil and gas] industry needs to fight against.”

“Silence never creates change,” Narang said.

“It’s sad to me (the sticker) went through a supply chain of people, who thought about it, printed it and distributed it.

It blows my mind anyone would think it’s funny.”

A friend who works in the oil industry sent an image of the sticker to Narang.

They spoke to HuffPost Canada on a condition of anonymity, fearing repercussions at their job.

The sticker, reading “X-Site Energy Services,” was handed out recently as promotional material at job sites to be worn on hard hats, the worker said.

Although the actual stickers weren’t distributed at their workplace, they said the graphic image was circulating among their colleagues on Wednesday.

The worker said the company was asked if it would be interested in a similar sticker.

“It was completely disgusting and wrong,” the worker said.

Narang said she called the general manager of X-Site, Doug Sparrow, asking him if he knew about the sticker that appears to depict the rape of a minor.

He said he was aware of it, according to Narang, and his response was, “She’s not a child, she’s 17.”

Under the Criminal Code, child pornography is any visual representation of a person under the age of 18 engaged or depicted to be engaged in a sexual activity.

UPDATE - Feb. 28, 2020: RCMP have investigated the image, and determined it is not considered child pornography.

“According to our experts, the image does not meet the criteria for it to constitute a criminal offence,” an officer from the Red Deer detachment told HuffPost.