The new Liberal Government’s first budget makes no mention of funding for the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) – an office that has been without an Ombudsperson since May, when it also stopped processing a backlog of human rights cases. At least 36 complaints by communities and workers from around the world have been … Read more
MiningWatch Canada released a report describing gross violations of human rights at Barrick Gold’s North Mara Gold Mine in Tanzania. Thousands of Indigenous Kuria near the mine have been forcibly evicted from their lands to make room for the mine’s expansion. Most people were evicted in December 2022, with the remaining families losing their homes and lands … Read more
According to a new report published by B.C. Mining Law Reform, the waste created by British Columbia’s accelerating mining boom is a growing threat to communities and watersheds throughout the province. The report, by geophysicist Dr. Steven Emerman, coincides with the publication of an interactive online map that fills a knowledge gap by providing communities with easier access to … Read more
Two separate bills tabled in the House of Commons aim to ensure that Canadian mining companies are held to account in Canada for egregious human rights abuses and environmental harm caused by their operations overseas. “Despite persistent allegations of abuse tied to Canadian mining operations, Canadian governments have continuously caved to mining industry claims that voluntary … Read more
The Federal Court has ruled that the Canadian government is not legally required to disclose details about its diplomatic interventions on behalf of a Canadian mining firm accused of human rights abuse in Guatemala. The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by York University professor Shin Imai, requesting that Ottawa be ordered to remove redactions … Read more
Over 50 Ecuadorian organizations and many individuals signed an open letter condemning Sylvie Bédard, Canada’s ambassador to Ecuador, for promoting Canadian mining in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Bédard made remarks in a webinar and in a newspaper interview regarding the essential role Canadian mining could play in Ecuador’s post-pandemic economic recovery. “We are concerned by the fact that the … Read more
A new report from MiningWatch Canada and a consortium of international organisations reveals how, in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the mining industry has been declared ‘essential’ in many countries worldwide and allowed to operate amid government lockdowns, with devastating results for communities and mining workers. The authors note that mine sites worldwide are emerging as … Read more
A new report analysing over 250 peer reviewed scientific articles finds that the impacts of mining deep sea polymetallic nodules would be extensive, severe, and last for generations, causing essentially irreversible species loss. The report entitled Predicting the impacts of mining deep sea polymetallic nodules in the Pacific Ocean, also notes that there is little to … Read more
On March 15, the Peruvian government declared a “state of sanitary emergency,” but permitted mining companies to continue working at a reduced capacity due to their “strategic” nature. Following this decision, the Hudbay Constancia mine announced that it would follow the government’s direction and move operations to care and maintenance. After 45 days, workers warned of a … Read more
On March 17, mineworkers at Barrick Gold’s “Lama Project” in Argentina demanded that the Canadian company allow them to leave the camp and go home to their families, following fears of a COVID-19 outbreak at the camp. The national secretariat of the Argentine Mine Workers Society demanded that all operating mines in the country be suspended until March 31. On … Read more
