In poorer parts of the world, however, the Canadian mining sector is seen in a different light. Canada's reputation on this front is being scrutinized once again and the picture remains an ugly one.
In recent weeks, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) held its 153rd hearings. The Commission heard of massive human rights abuses—including killings and sexual assaults of Indigenous protesters—at the hands of security forces in the employ of Canadian mining companies and their associates. These acts were in response to protests motivated by concerns over environmental degradation related to mining activities, which ultimately threaten the very survival of the communities in the regions affected by the mines.
Rose-Marie Antoine, the current commissioner of the IACHR, was succinct as she was blunt. "We at the commission continue to see a number of very, very serious human rights violations occurring in the region as a result of certain countries, and Canada being one of the main ones."
This does not paint a rosy picture of our country. Yet sadly, the complaints related to Canada's mining sector heard at the IACHR are not new.
Mining the world's resources is big business for Canadian industry. At last count (2008), 75 per cent of global mining companies were headquartered in Canada and "make a major contribution to Canadian prosperity," according to the Government of Canada website.
Extensive Canadian extractive operations in less developed nations had previously led the Canadian government to initiate its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy which encourages "voluntary activities undertaken by a company to operate in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner."
In tandem with the CSR's tepid calls for corporate accountability, the federal government lends support to these corporations through policies like "economic diplomacy," which channel Canadian diplomatic efforts into supporting Canadian businesses abroad.
While this type of corporate pandering has become a trademark of the Canadian governments, such tosh is particularly egregious in light of Canadian mining companies' record overseas. Community-based organizations in lands affected by Canadian mining operations have been arguing for years that these companies are responsible for human rights violations and environmentally destructive practices.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government's response has been to ignore complaints of abuses, as was the case in Chiapas, Mexico where an anti-mining activist was murdered by security agents with links to Calgary-based Blackfire Exploration.
In a landmark ruling in 2013, an Ontario court found that Canadian companies could be liable for crimes committed in other lands. The case related to allegations that HudBay, a Canadian company, was responsible in Guatemala for the murder of one man, the gang rape of eleven women, and the shooting of another man that left him paralyzed.
That case is now in the courts.
The Ontario ruling opened the door for another lawsuit from Guatemala in which seven shooting victims, allegedly shot by paramilitary agents in the hire of Canadian mining company Tahoe Resources, filed a civil suit against Tahoe in a British Columbian court. Also related to Tahoe's operations, the Guatemalan judiciary is investigating the company's efforts, through its subsidiaries, to criminalize Indigenous human rights defenders and opponents of Tahoe's mining activities.
One cannot help but wonder why—given the overwhelming importance of the industry to Canada's economy—there is such a shocking paucity of reporting on allegations of human rights violations, environmental destruction, and a general disdain for concerns of the communities affected by these mining operations.
As an example of the silence, the case before the Guatemalan court examining the criminalization of Indigenous activists protesting Tahoe was not mentioned in Canadian media at all, even though the Tahoe CEO, Canadian citizen Kevin McArthur, was summoned this past month before the Guatemalan court. Likewise, other concerns about industry activities abroad are either scarcely mentioned or muted entirely in the mainstream press.
Conversely, major media outlets have no trouble fawning over people like McArthur and companies like his in their business pages.
In sharp contrast to the executives and shareholders of Canadian mining companies, the people who go up against giants like Blackfire, Tahoe, and HudBay are among the poorest in the world, whether in Indigenous regions of Guatemala, Mexico, or elsewhere in the world. They have little in the way of resources to advocate for the rights to their land, livelihood, and lives.
The stories behind Canadian mining activities belie our national narrative of Canada as a force for good on the international stage. Instead, Canadian mining companies have been repeatedly exposed as an oppressive and destructive apparatus in some of the most vulnerable communities on the planet.
These acts are being committed in our name. It is incumbent upon Canadians to divest themselves of companies engaged in such practices. It is also necessary that a loud message is sent to Ottawa indicating that support for these companies is intolerable and must stop. "Voluntary" adherence to the standards of any decent society is clearly not good enough when dealing with companies which have enormous profits at stake.
"Canadian prosperity" should not come with blood on its hands.
Original Article
Source: vancouverobserver.com/
Author: Andrew Lodge
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