Last November 14, the Government of Canada released its new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy. Several civil society organizations—including Development and Peace and its members—had been waiting for this new strategy in the hope that their calls for greater justice for communities in the Global South affected by the operations of certain mining companies would be heard.
On Canada Day, we drove to the mining town of Mufilira with Development and Peace’s partner JCTR Kitwe. We shared some of our national pride with our Zambian friends by singing them Oh Canada. The pride that I held onto was challenged many times throughout our very eye-opening visit that day. The site of the copper mine we visited was very similar to the mines that are headquartered back in Canada.
Lawrence Townley-Smith, Member of Development and Peace
A group of 12 Development and Peace members from the Prairies and the Atlantic provinces, accompanied by two staff members, are on a solidarity trip to the Philippines.
Come join a mass rally on May 14th calling for Canadian mining companies to be accountable for their actions overseas!
The rally will take place on Wednesday, May 14th at noon on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Come be part of hundreds from across Canada who will be gathering on Parliament Hill to call for an ombudsman for the extractive sector so that communities negatively impacted by Canadian mining companies in the Global South can have a Voice for justice.
Development and Peace members in Quebec City held a week of action for the Voice for Justice campaign in their region by organizing several activities featuring Ramsey Hart from Mining Watch Canada.
Who knew that a cookie could teach so much! This year, as part of our campaign A Voice for Justice calling for an ombudsman for responsible mining, we gave students the opportunity to understand the realities faced by communities in the Global South when a mining company doesn’t respect their rights. How? By mining cookies!
The island of Marinduque in the Philippines is a small paradise. The island rises in a mountainous peak that is covered in lush tropical forests and its calm villages imbue the island with a peaceful tranquility. On closer inspection, however, the island has strange colours that flow through its rivers, some which are half dried up. That’s because there is a toxic legacy on the island, one left behind by a Canadian mining company. Even if the mine was abandoned in 1996, the community is still living the impacts of the mine. And still trying to find justice.
The governments of Honduras and Peru award concessions to mining companies. Villages are displaced, fields and streams are contaminated and the communities have no say. Even so, they are demanding one thing: that their right to free, prior and informed consent be respected.
This week, Members of Parliament across the country will be receiving visits from their constituents who want to share an important message with them from communities in the Global South: Canadian mining companies that don’t respect their rights should be held accountable.
This is why Development and Peace and several other organizations across the country are calling on the Canadian government to put in place an ombudsman here in Canada for the extractive sector.
