Scientists, fishers say new mining deals to cause more damage than good
- Details
- Category: OceanaGold Philippines
- Published: Monday, 24 May 2021 10:46
Adam Ang
Oceanagold’s mining operations in Didipio, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya have dried up the sources of water, polluted the environment and crippled the livelihood of farmers.
“We won’t be fooled by the pretext that reopening our natural resources to large-scale mining would help revive the pandemic-battered economy as it would inflict serious damage than repair.”
Environment defenders, including scientists and fishers, have debunked President Rodrigo Duterte’s justification for the lifting of the nine-year ban on new mining contracts.
Today the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) releases draft model legislation that provides lawmakers with a blueprint for writing into Canadian law the corporate duty to respect human rights and the environment.
Vancouver-based mining company Pan American Silver held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 12th: the final shareholder meeting for retiring founder and Board Chair Ross Beaty. To shareholders attending online, Beaty narrated a glowing chronicle of Pan American Silver’s socially and environmentally responsible history in Latin America. Yet, when Breaking the Silence and other shareholders submitted questions regarding the social and environmental impacts of the company’s business on communities in Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and Argentina, they were ignored and their questions deemed not “pertinent”.
In the wake of a shooting attack, death threats, and fear of further violence against members of the peaceful resistance to Pan American Silver’s Escobal silver mine in Guatemala, nearly 4,000 people are calling on the Vancouver-based company to halt all community activities in the Central American country.
On March 2, 2021, the Federal Court of Canada will hear arguments in a lawsuit that seeks information about the Canadian government’s response to a human rights case concerning a Canadian-owned mine in Guatemala. The suit was brought by York University law professor and co-founder of the Justice & Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP), Shin Imai, who first sought the information through access-to-information requests in 2014.
