Amani Mustafa Mhinda is the founder and executive director of the NGO Haki Madini, a Tanzanian policy analysis and advocacy organization working on mining, environment and community issues. He is a lawyer by training and has been actively involved in research, legal analysis and engagement with civil society initiatives around extractive industries. He is also a fellow with the Revenue Watch Institute and PETRAD Norway.
Part 1
Part 2
Mark Rowlinson
Mark Rowlinson is a member of the United Steelworkers and lawyer who drafted Bill C-354 that aims to hold corporations legally accountable for human rights violations committed abroad.
Francisco is the former President of SINTRAMINERCOL, the union that represented workers in the Colombian state-owned mining company MINERCOL. Currently, he’s Secretary of FUNTRAMIENERGETICA, the federation of Colombian energy sector unions including the oil industry workers union USO. He is a lawyer, a human rights activist and an expert on the proliferation of multinational and Canadian corporate control of Colombia’s mining-energy extractive industries (mainly gold, coal, oil and gas). In 2005 he co-authored the book The Profits of Extermination: Big Mining in Colombia with Avi Chomsky.
Translation by Rebecca Bartel (MISN)
Avi Chomsky is Professor of History and Coordinator of Latin American Studies at Salem State University in Massachusetts. Her books include A History of the Cuban Revolution (Blackwell, 2011), Linked Labor Histories: New England, Colombia, and the Making of a Global Working Class (Duke, 2008), They Take Our Jobs! And 20 Other Myths about Immigration (Beacon, 2007), and The People Behind Colombian Coal: Mining, Multinationals, and Human Rights (Casa Editorial Pisando Callos, 2007). She has been active in Latin America solidarity and immigrant rights organizations for over 30 years. She is currently working with Appalachian and Colombian communities affected by coal mining.
Check out all of the amazing speakers that we will have at the Mining Injustice Conference this year – from within Canada and around the world! The conference begins Friday night with a social at the United Steelworkers Hall, and then continues Saturday and Sunday at the Earth Sciences Building at the University of Toronto! Read the rest of this entry »
At the recent Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated: “Looking to the future, we see increased Canadian mining investment throughout the Americas – something that will be good for our mutual prosperity and is therefore a priority of our government.” Over 60 per cent of the world’s mining corporations are registered on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the CEOs and chairmen of these companies are among the most influential players in Canadian foreign policy.
Indeed, the Canadian government’s recent decision to tie foreign aid to Corporate Social Responsibility projects carried out by mining-funded NGO programming demonstrates the driving motor behind Canada’s foreign policy agenda: economic benefits for Canadian business.
Once a year, the board of Directors of the world’s most powerful gold mining corporation converge in downtown Toronto. Join us and representatives from mining-impacted communities to… CONFRONT BARRICK GOLD! Join Occupy Toronto in targeting a company that represents the global elite – the 1%, while violating environmental and human rights.
WHAT: Shareholders meeting protest WHEN: May 2, 2012 10:30am WHERE: Metro Convention Centre 255 Front St, Toronto
WHY PROTEST BARRICK?
In countries like Australia, Chile, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania, Barrick takes advantage of inadequate and poorly enforced regulatory controls to rob indigenous people of their lands, destroy sensitive ecosystems and agricultural land, support brutal police and security operations, and sue anyone who tries to report on it. In the context of this libel chill, Barrick has branded itself as the socially responsible mining giant and boasts its listing on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
Behind the scenes, Barrick has been singled out as the company most involved in the lobbying effort to stop private member’s bill C-300. This bill would have withdrawn government funding and diplomatic support for companies found – after an investigation – to be abusing human rights or violating international environmental norms. In October 2010, bill C-300 lost by a mere 6 votes.
Now, Barrick uses its influence with government to direct millions of international aid dollars to fund projects next to a their mines.
Closer to home, Barrick’s Peter Munk pledged to contribute $35 million to the University of Toronto for the establishment of the Munk School of Global Affairs. The donation contract – which was negotiated and approved in secret – provides Munk with influence over the school’s curriculum and spells out the conditions under which the School will house the Canadian International Council (CIC), a right-wing think tank.
Goldcorp’s “true story” of corporate neglect displayed at Dundas and
Yonge intersection
“Goldcorp is Canada’s shame,” states a young participant, Valerie
Croft, and member of Amnesty International. “We are all complicit so
long as Goldcorp continues to operate with impunity in Guatemala.”
Brandishing large caricature-size newspapers and hand-crafted headlines, 30 or so protestors marched from Goldcorp’s headquarters in Toronto to Dundas and Yonge intersection where they intermittently posed at the intersection holding out headlines pointing to Goldcorp’s poor environmental and human rights records throughout Mesoamerica, and the recent insider trading scandal involving chairman Ian Telfer.
This event is one of many actions throughout Latin America being organized in light of the annual Goldcorp shareholders meeting in South Porcupine, Ontario where affected community members will appeal to shareholders to demand increased corporate accountability. There is growing concern that Goldcorp will cease operations at its site in San Marcos, Guatemala without establishing adequate measures for clean-up and compensation.
“It’s a disgrace that after stealing land and resources from the people of San Miguel, Goldcorp adds insult to injury by refusing to clean up after themselves,” says Mining Injustice Solidarity Network member, Rebecca Bartel.
CRASH THE GOLDCORP BASH: HELP MAKE GOLDCORP’S ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD FRONT PAGE NEWS!!!!
WHAT: PROTEST AND MARCH/RALLY
WHERE: 130 ADELAIDE WEST (Goldcorp’s Toronto office – North of King between
University and Bay) to Dundas Square pedestrian scramble (Yonge and Dundas)
WHEN: APRIL 26th, 2012 FROM 12:00-1:30
The Goldcorp Annual General Meeting is taking place on April 26th near Timmins,
Ontario. But here in Toronto, we want to make sure that people hear about
Goldcorp’s shameful human rights and environmental record at its mining sites,
particularly the Marlin mine in San Marcos, Guatemala.
April 13th, 2012 / Author: underminingsustainability
Once a year, the board of Directors of the world’s most powerful gold mining corporation converge in downtown Toronto. Join us and representatives from mining-impacted communities to… CONFRONT BARRICK GOLD!
WHAT: Shareholders meeting protest WHEN: May 2, 2012 10:30am WHERE: Metro Convention Centre 255 Front St, Toronto
WHY PROTEST BARRICK?
In countries like Australia, Chile, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania, Barrick takes advantage of inadequate and poorly enforced regulatory controls to rob indigenous people of their lands, destroy sensitive ecosystems and agricultural land, support brutal police and security operations, and sue anyone who tries to report on it. In the context of this libel chill, Barrick has branded itself as the socially responsible mining giant and boasts its listing on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Read the rest of this entry »
Mining “trends” exposed as Risky, Costly, and Violent
Fashionistas from the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network (MISN) gathered to denounce and ridicule the Canadian mining sector outside of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention today. Walking down an impromptu catwalk in front of the Metro Toronto Convention Center, the 40 or so protestors showcased “mining company must-haves” like a PR filter for everyday green-washing, cute pandas for controversial pipelines, and a 77 million dollar pacifier for Pacific Rim. The outfits satirized the superficial public relations stunts of the mining industry at home and abroad, while bringing attention to the community rights and basic human rights that are violated by these same companies. Read the rest of this entry »
