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The reports below are significant, not only because they establish a pattern of violations by Canadian mining corporations operating in Central and Latin America, but also because ALBA member Ecuador has given a green light for these same mining companies to operate inside Ecuador. Even before their arrival, President Correa has signaled his eagerness to repress peaceful protests against open pit mining on the part of ecological groups and indigenous organizations such as Accion Ecologica and CONAIE. One such company has already announced its plan to invest half a billion dollars inside the country in the next three years. It is clear that the recent smear campaign against CONAIE is part of a larger plan to destroy any opposition to the invasion of indigenous territory by Canadian mining companies. Correa needs to break CONAIE before these outfits can operate with impunity. Greg McDonald http://climateandcapitalism.com/?p=3325 Suppressed report confirms international violations by Canadian mining companies October 20, 2010 Canadian mining companies are involved in more than four times as many violations as the next two highest offenders, Australia and India A report obtained by MiningWatch Canada reveals that Canadian mining companies are implicated in four times as many violations of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as mining companies from other countries. The report was commissioned by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) in 2009 but was never released to the public. The report discusses 171 high-profile CSR violations by mining companies between 1999 and 2009. Sixty-three percent of these violations are linked to companies from just five countries, including Canada. Canadian mining companies are involved in more than four times as many violations as the next two highest offenders, Australia and India. The report’s authors conclude that “…Canadian companies have been the most significant group involved in unfortunate incidents in the developing world. Canadian companies have played a much more major role than their peers from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Canadian companies are more likely to be engaged in community conflict, environmental and unethical behaviour…” Importantly, the report also found that the large majority of the Canadian mining companies involved in such violations have CSR policies in place. “This report – done for the biggest industry lobby group – confirms what we have been saying for years: that violations of good corporate behaviour by Canadian mining companies in developing countries are numerous and widespread. Cleary this is not just a case of a few bad apples, as the industry’s boosters would like us to believe,” said Catherine Coumans, Research Coordinator for MiningWatch Canada. “It also confirms that voluntary social responsibility measures by these same companies are not enough to stop abuses of human rights and the environment.” It is for this reason that MiningWatch Canada firmly supports the passage of Bill C-300, An Act Respecting Corporate Accountability for Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries, currently before the House of Commons. “Canadians want to know that our government is not supporting Canadian mining companies that are involved in abuses of human rights and the environment overseas,” says Coumans. “That’s what Bill C-300 is all about, making sure our tax dollars do not support bad corporate behaviour.” Download the report: Corporate Social Responsibility: Movements and Footprints of Canadian Mining and Exploration Firms in the Developing World (PDF) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rights Action Human rights complaint to the Canadian government, Concerning nickel mining in Guatemala October 19, 2010 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rights Action HudBay Minerals Watch October 19, 2010 BELOW: Updated Human Rights Complaint to the Canadian Government Concerning Nickel Mining in Guatemala WHAT TO DO: Please write your own letter of concern, to your own politician, about this on-going, Canadian / mining industry issue. Feel free to send copy of this Complaint with your own letter. See address list below of Canadian politicians and government officials. Please re-distribute and re-post this letter all around To get on/ off Rights Action's listserv: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1103480765269 FOR MORE INFORMATION, QUESTIONS: Grahame Russell, co-director, Rights Action (i...@rightsaction.org, 860-352-2448, www.rightsaction.org) & Dr. Catherine Nolin, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Northern British Colombia (no...@unbc.ca, (250) 961-5875) * * * * * * * October 19, 2010 UPDATED HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION COMPLAINT SUBMITTED TO THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT: CANADIAN NICKEL MINING COMPANIES INVOLVED IN VIOLENT, ILLEGAL FORCED EVICTIONS OF MAYAN-Q'EQCHI' COMMUNITIES, GANG RAPE OF WOMEN VILLAGERS & ASSASSINATION OF COMMUNITY LEADER (Mayan-Q'eqchi' women of Lote 8 & La Paz communities, El Estor, Izabal. The 12 women of Lote 8 were gang-raped by Guatemalan soldiers, police and private security guards hired by the Guatemala Nickel Company, wholly owned subsidiary of then Skye Resources, now HudBay Minerals. Photo: James Rodriguez, www.mimundo.org, August 2010) To: Mr. Lawrence Cannon Minister of Foreign Affairs 509-S Centre Block, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6, Canada can...@parl.gc.ca & other government officials and politicians To: the Canada Pension Plan and other investors To: HudBay Minerals & CGN (Guatemala Nickel Company) From: Grahame Russell, co-director, Rights Action, i...@rightsaction.org, 860-352-2448, www.rightsaction.org, Dr. Catherine Nolin, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Northern British Colombia, no...@unbc.ca, (250) 961-5875, & the undersigned * * * * * * * TO ALL CONCERNED PARTIES, On behalf of the University of Northern British Columbia's Guatemala Delegation & Rights Action, we submit this updated human rights violation complaint to the Canadian Government. As you know, we submitted earlier versions of this complaint to Mr. Lawrence Cannon, other government representatives and politicians, and investors. To date we have not received a reply from anyone, except (October 13) from Mr. Cannon, who sent us a letter that responds to almost none of the points we raise in this complaint. The violations we have investigated and reported on have not been addressed or remedied. The underlying issues that led to this nickel-mining related repression have not been addressed and the harmed Mayan Q'eqchi' (Kek-chi, phonetically) communities may suffer more repression in the future, at the behest of Canadian (and other) nickel mining companies. A CANADIAN GOVERNMENT REQUEST FOR COMPLAINTS In May 2008, after a previous delegation of UNBC students (and their professor Dr. Catherine Nolin) and Rights Action visited the nickel mining harmed communities of El Estor, the UNBC delegation met with then Ambassador Kenneth Cook in the Canadian Embassy. At that meeting, the delegation informed him - and other staffers - of serious violations that Mayan Q'eqchi' communities of El Estor had recently suffered at the behest of Skye Resources and CGN (Guatemala Nickel Company, subsidiary of Skye Resources). Ambassador Cook told the UNBC delegation that the Canadian government - via the Embassy in Guatemala -- was "open to receiving human rights complaints related to Canadian mining in Guatemala," though they had never received one. A CANADIAN PROBLEM: NICKEL MINING & FORCED EVICTIONS, GANG RAPE & ASSASSINATION As Canadian citizens, we demand the immediate attention of the Canadian government. This is a Canadian problem. All of the major decisions affecting this mining operation are taken by then Skye Resources, now HudBay Minerals, in Canada. Canadian shareholders and investors (including the Canada Pension Plan) benefit from this and many similar mining operations. Additionally, the Canadian government is promoting, as policy, a largely unfettered expansion of Canadian mining companies in Guatemala. THE VIOLATIONS Over the past few years, UNBC's Dr. Catherine Nolin has organized a number of delegations to visit, along with Rights Action, the mining affected communities of El Estor. These commitments include two more visits in May and August of 2010. We have visited the mining affected communities of La Unión, La Revolución, Lote 8, La Paz and Lote 9. We have received testimonies from eye-witnesses to, and victims of, the forced evictions; eye-witnesses to, and victims of, gang rapes; we have spoken with eye-witnesses (including family members) to the assassination of community leader and teacher Adolfo Ich. (Adolfo Ich - center - was assassinated September 27, 2009, by private security guards hired by the Guatemala Nickel Company, wholly owned subsidiary of HudBay Minerals. Photo: James Rodriguez, www.mimundo.org) THE VIOLATORS These human rights violations were committed by the Guatemalan army and police, and private security guards employed by Skye Resources and HudBay Minerals via their Guatemalan subsidiary company - CGN. LOTE 8 An example: One of the most attacked and harmed communities is that of Lote 8, an isolated Mayan Q'eqchi' community on the mountain ridge north of El Estor (where much of the nickel ore is apparently located). After hiking into the Lote 8 community in May 2010, and meeting with community members elsewhere in El Estor (in August 2010), the UNBC delegation and Rights Action received substantial testimonies from the community members. The community members told us that these testimonies were one of the first public recounting of their shared experiences: January 9th 2007: Hundreds of police, soldiers and Skye Resources/CGN private security agents arrived in at least 80 police pickup trucks, 2 army trucks and 3 nickel company trucks. They arrived with the intent of illegally and forcibly evicting the inhabitants. Community members were given 5 minutes to retrieve belongings from their small homes; they were offered 300 Quetzales to destroy their own homes. Upon the community's peaceful refusal, the police, soldiers and private security forces started shooting teargas; they robbed the villager's homes and then set them on fire with gasoline. In total, 100 small homes were destroyed. The villagers - from grandparents to newborns - were forced to flee into the forests. All of their belongings, including clothes, bedding, food, cooking implements, etc, were either destroyed or stolen. With absolutely nowhere to go, the 100 families of Lote 8 spent the next week re-building minimal shelter, attaching plastic sheeting to poles (for shelter), while scrounging for food and trying to recover some of the subsistence crops. During this week, Skye Resources/CGN helicopters regularly flew over their remote community. January 17th 2007: Hundreds of police, soldiers and private security agents returned to Lote 8 to again illegally and forcibly evict the community, this time while male residents were away from the community. They carried out the same plan of destruction as on January 9th. Moreover, police, soldiers and Skye Resources/CGN private security guards gang-raped 12 female community members. At least two of the victims were pregnant at the time, and lost their babies due to the rapes. Another victim, a newlywed, has been told that she can not have children due to the violent rape. (In an earlier version of this Complaint, we referred to a smaller number of women. Based on our August 2010 visit, we now have testimony that 12 women were raped, who also described to us their fear of coming forward, publicly.) * * * In 2008, soon after the execution of these illegal and brutal evictions and gang rapes, Skye Resources sold its nickel mining interests (including CGN) to HudBay Minerals. ASSASSINATION OF ADOLFO ICH On September 27, 2009, well-known Mayan Q'eqchi' community leader and teacher Adolfo Ich was captured and then killed by CGN (now owned by HudBay Minerals) security guards under the direct orders chief of CGN security forces Mynor Padilla. This event took place in the community of La Unión, in the town of El Estor. Under orders of Mynor Padilla, heavily armed security guards came on the La Unión property, grabbed Adolfo Ich in front of other villagers, and took him back onto adjacent company properties - firing live rounds at community members who tried to follow them. A couple of hours later, after all the security guards were ordered to leave the premises, family and community members found Adolfo Ich dead inside CGN company buildings, with bullet wounds and machete cuts. DEEPLY ENTRENCHED IMPUNITY Because of Guatemala's deeply entrenched and well-documented impunity for the government and powerful sectors, no criminal legal proceedings were even initiated for these illegal forced evictions and gang rapes. A capture order is out for HudBay/CGN security forces chief Mynor Padilla, though that order has not been acted upon. Mr. Padilla is often seen in the El Estor region driving in HudBay/CGN vehicles and on CGN property. Not surprisingly, HudBay Minerals/CGN deny all of the above. * * * The UNBC group and Rights Action have photographic, video and audio testimonies of all of the violations and repression summarized above. Though we concentrated our recent efforts on the most remote community of Lote 8 and the killing of Adolfo Ich, similar serious charges - including rape - have been made against the police, army, and CGN private security guards that were carrying out violent and illegal forced evictions in at least four other nearby communities in 2006 and early 2007. As Canadian citizens, we demand concrete actions from the Canadian Government: That the Canadian Government carry out a full and impartial investigation into these allegations; That the Canadian Government notify the appropriate Guatemalan authorities of these extremely serious charges and of the Canadian Government's investigation; That, with the community's consent, international accompaniers are provided to ensure that the mining affected communities are not subject to retribution for making these accusations and claims; That the findings of the Canadian government's investigation be made known publicly; That the investigation provide a complete summary of the human rights violations and property destruction and loss suffered by the Lote 8 community, as well as the other five Mayan Q'eqchi' communities that suffered similar illegal and forced evictions around the same time; That the investigation provide conclusions and recommendations with respect to the actions and/or omissions of the Governments of Guatemala and Canada, and the Guatemalan security forces, and with respect to Skye Resources (now HudBay Minerals) and the company's security forces; and That the investigation set out what reparations and compensation ought to be paid and made to the victims. We believe the Canadian Government must carry out this investigation, based on the facts that: the very authorities responsible for ensuring justice and security in Guatemala - the police and the military - were the perpetrators, along with CGN private security guards; that the owners of the Guatemalan Nickel Company - then Skye Resources, now HudBay Minerals - are Canadian companies; and that the Canadian government is playing a proactive role in supporting the expansion of Canadian companies into Guatemala. We insist that this human rights violation complaint be taken seriously and trust the Canadian Government will take every means necessary to ensure that the perpetrators of these human rights violations be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and that full reparations and compensation be made to the victims of these crimes. We look forward to hearing back from you about this serious human rights matter. We have extensive knowledge about the violations and harms caused by nickel mining interests in the El Estor region and look forward to sharing it with you. Sincerely, Dr. Catherine Nolin Associate Professor of Geography, UNBC 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 no...@unbc.ca, (250) 961-5875 Grahame Russell Rights Action 552-351 Queen St. E, Toronto, ON, M5A0in8 i...@rightsaction.org, (860) 352-2448 Claudette Bois Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (NRES) PhD Candidate UNBC 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 bo...@unbc.ca, (250) 960-5934 Nathan Einbinder MA NRES Candidate UNBC 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 nathaneinbin...@gmail.com, (619) 922-2996 John-Paul Laplante B.Sc, B.I.T. MA NRES Candidate UNBC 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 lapl...@unbc.ca, (250) 960-4348 Alexandra Pedersen B.A. International Development MA International Studies Candidate UNBC 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 pede...@unbc.ca, (250) 964-2603 Dana Pidherny B.A Georgraphy UNBC 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 pidhe...@unbc.ca, (250) 617-0731 Ashley Gill B.A Geography Student UNBC 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 ag...@unbc.ca, (250) 563-5215 Erica Henderson B.A General Studies Student UNBC 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 hend...@unbc.ca, (250) 962-4650 Stephen John Porter B.A Geography Student UNBC 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 spor...@unbc.ca, (250) 962-0816 Miranda Seymour B.A Geography Student UNBC 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9 seym...@unbc.ca, (250) 562-8552 CC: * * * * * * * CANADIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS i...@gg.ca, dmouss...@gg.ca, har...@parl.gc.ca, od...@parl.gc.ca, can...@parl.gc.ca, ken...@parl.gc.ca, sor...@parl.gc.ca, duc...@parl.gc.ca, lay...@parl.gc.ca, emayto...@greenparty.ca, ign...@parl.gc.ca, r...@parl.gc.ca, lal...@parl.gc.ca, dew...@parl.gc.ca, bagnel...@parl.gc.ca, d...@parl.gc.ca, julia...@parl.gc.ca, mck...@parl.gc.ca, sor...@parl.gc.ca, alliso...@parl.gc.ca, dew...@parl.gc.ca, marketa.ev...@international.gc.ca, barbara.cur...@acdi-cida.gc.ca, kate.stefa...@acdi-cida.gc.ca, leeann.mckech...@international.gc.ca, karin.reine...@international.gc.ca, gt...@international.gc.ca, sj...@international.gc.ca, tg...@international.gc.ca Governor General of Canada Rideau Hall, 1 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1A-0A1 i...@gg.ca, (613) 993-8200, 800 465-6890 Duncan Mousseau, Director, Policy, Planning and Correspondence Office of the Secretary to the Governor General dmouss...@gg.ca Prime Minister Stephen Harper har...@parl.gc.ca Minister of International Cooperation Bev Oda 509-S Centre Block, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6 od...@parl.gc.ca Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon 509-S Centre Block, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6 can...@parl.gc.ca Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas) Peter Kent 125 Sussex Dr, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0G2 (613) 992-0253, ken...@parl.gc.ca Gilles Duceppe, leader, Bloc Quebecois 1200 Papineau Av, #350, Montreal, QC, H2K 4R5 duc...@parl.gc.ca Jack Layton, leader, New Democratic Party 221 Broadview Ave, Suite 100, Toronto, ON, MM 2G3 lay...@parl.gc.ca Elizabeth May, leader, Green Party Saanich Gulf Islands EDA, PO Box 20076, Sidney, BC, V8L 5C9 emayto...@greenparty.ca Michael Ignatieff, leader, Liberal Party 656 The Queensway, Etobicoke, ON, M8Y 1K7 ign...@parl.gc.ca Bob Rae, Liberal, Foreign Affairs Critic (613) 992-5234, r...@parl.gc.ca Francine Lalonde, Bloc Quebecois, Foreign Affairs Critic (613) 995-6327, lal...@parl.gc.ca Paul Dewar, NDP, Foreign Affairs Critic 1306 Wellington St. W, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 3B2 dew...@parl.gc.ca, 613-946-8682 Larry Bagnell, Liberal bagnel...@parl.gc.ca Stockwell Day, Conservative d...@parl.gc.ca, 613-995-1702 Peter Julian, NDP International Trade Critic, Rm 178, Confederation Bldg., Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 julia...@parl.gc.ca John McKay, Liberal, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (613) 992-1447, mck...@parl.gc.ca, 613-947-4609 Kevin Sorenson, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Room 518, Justice Building, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 (613) 947-4608, sor...@parl.gc.ca, 613-992-2971 Dean Allison, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairperson, 4994 King Street, Beamsville, Ontario, L0R 1B0 alliso...@parl.gc.ca, 905-995-2772 Marketa Evans, Global corporate responsibility commissioner marketa.ev...@international.gc.ca Barbara Curran, CIDA Director, 200 Promenade du Portage, Gatineau, K1A 0G4 819-994-4092, barbara.cur...@acdi-cida.gc.ca Kate Stefanuk, Acting Director (& responsible for Honduras) kate.stefa...@acdi-cida.gc.ca Johanne Dupont, Country Program Manager for Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Cuba johanne.dup...@acdi-cida.gc.ca CONTACT YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC CANADIAN Embassy in Guatemala Ambassador Leeann McKechnie leeann.mckech...@international.gc.ca Karin Reinecke, Assistant to the Ambassador karin.reine...@international.gc.ca Jennifer Chacon, jennifer.cha...@international.gc.ca 13 Calle 8-44 Zone 10, Edificio Edyma Plaza, Ciudad de Guatemala (502) 2363-4348, 2365-1201, gt...@international.gc.ca CANADIAN Embassy in Costa Rica (responsible for Honduras, as well) Ambassador Neil Reeder (506) 2242-4400, (506) 2242-4411 - Political, sj...@international.gc.ca Honduras Office of the Canadian Embassy Centro Financiero Banexpo - Tercer Piso Boulevard San Juan Bosco, Colonia Payaquí Tegucigalpa, Honduras (504) 232-4551; tg...@international.gc.ca * * * * * * * FOR MORE INFORMATION: Grahame Russell, co-director, Rights Action, i...@rightsaction.org, 860-352-2448, www.rightsaction.org Dr. Catherine Nolin, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Northern British Colombia, no...@unbc.ca, (250) 961-5875 * * * * * * * ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
