by Amber Buchanan

Lingan power plant. In 1999 Nova Scotia Power (NSP) began purchasing coal from the Cerrejòn Mine in Colombia. It is the largest open pit mine in the world spanning 45 kilometers by eight kilometers and can actually be seen from the moon. The mine has forcibly and violently displaced local indigenous and Afro-Colombian residents in order to expand its operations. The company recently admitted that they are still purchasing coal from Colombia but were not able to confirm from which mine.

Story originally published in the Cape Breton Independent

Most Canadians are not aware of the damage being done by Canadian mining companies to the country’s reputation abroad.

“When you meet people on a bus in Guatemala, as happened to a friend of mine, and the locals say, ‘Don’t tell anyone you’re Canadian, just say you’re from the United States,” the damage that Canadian mining companies are doing to Canada’s image abroad is driven home,” said Terry Gibbs in her talk at Cape Breton University this past Friday.

Gibbs was the speaker at Cape Breton University’s 16th Annual J. B. McLachlan Memorial Lecture, named after the well-known Cape Breton socialist and union leader from a century ago. Gibbs is an associate professor in CBU’s department of political science and a member of the J. B. McLachlan Media Collective..

We often celebrate extraordinary people who have changed the world, said Gibbs, but ordinary people also can have profound impacts. In reference to the union leader, Gibbs stated, “McLachlan for me represents a vision that recognizes the role and power of very ordinary people to change history in the contexts of their day to day lives.”

She pointed out that McLachlan’s struggle was about more than just better wages and improved working conditions, “It was about liberating ourselves from the old way of doing things…tapping into our broader human potential.”

She talked about how the process of globalization in recent decades has made peoples around the globe far more interconnected. “The context of the struggles around capitalist exploitation and labour rights has changed significantly since the days of McLachlan,” she said.

Gibbs then focused on Canada’s connections to the operations of multinational mining companies operating around the world, particularly in Latin America. A study by the Canadian Centre for the Study of Resource Conflict reveals that of 171 mining companies involved in conflicts with communities over the past 10 years, 34 percent are Canadian.

In reference to a report issued by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Gibbs stated, “Canada does not yet have laws to ensure that the activities of Canadian mining companies in developing countries conform to human rights standards, including the rights of workers and indigenous peoples.” And according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Canadian government provides “political, legal and financial support to companies which commit or tolerate human rights abuses.”

Gibbs explained that the Harper government has cracked down in recent years on groups that are challenging its corporate-friendly policies. The federal government has increased its monitoring of political activities in Canada, from its audit of what are being identified as “partisan” non-profits and the surveillance of political gatherings from protest marches to university talks.

The most recent example is the targeting of the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists. Revenue Canada has threatened to launch a tax audit of the birdwatchers if they refrain from political activities. The threat follows the group’s recent events and statements on the impacts of Alberta’s tar sands on Canada’s biodiversity and their vigorous public defense of the Endangered Species Act.

Gibbs said that “indigenous communities, other community and labour leaders, human rights advocates and their allies in activist movements in Canada and in Latin America are increasingly targeted for delivering their social justice message.”

She went on to highlight three examples of mining companies she’s personally familiar with in Latin America that are accused of human rights violations and environmental destruction.

The first example directly relates to Nova Scotians. In 1999 Nova Scotia Power (NSP) began purchasing coal from the Cerrejòn Mine in Colombia. It is the largest open pit mine in the world spanning 45 kilometers by eight kilometers and can actually be seen from the moon. The mine has forcibly and violently displaced local indigenous and Afro-Colombian residents in order to expand its operations.

The Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (ARSN), as part of an international solidarity movement, raised awareness about the “costs of power” by pointing out that Nova Scotians are inadvertently participating in human rights violations in Colombia every time they turn on their lights. Through such solidarity networks, community members in Colombia asked customers of the mine, including NSP and New Brunswick Power, to pressure the mine’s owners into engaging in collective negotiations with the communities to be displaced. The Cerrejòn Mine is owned by three of the largest mining companies in the world: BHP Billiton, Anglo-American, and Xstrata.

Activists in the Maritimes put pressure on NSP and New Brunswick Power. NSP’s responded in 2006 by temporarily initiating a discussion with local activists around human rights standards. The company recently admitted that they are still purchasing coal from Colombia but were not able to confirm from which mine. NSP also said that it has not implemented any human rights policies but always ensure that its suppliers act with “due diligence.” Meanwhile, the Cerrejón Mine continues to displace communities.

The Marlin Mine in San Marcos, Guatemala was the next example Gibbs addressed. The gold mine is operated by Montana Exploradora, a subsidiary of the Canadian mining company Goldcorp. Members of the communities affected by the mine claim they were never consulted about its creation. They also claim that new diseases and sicknesses have appeared along with the mine, as well as damage to people’s houses from daily explosions.

The last case highlighted by Gibbs is the current court case against Toronto-based mining company Hudbay Minerals. Hudbay is accused of the murder of a Guatemalan community leader, Adolfo Ich, who spoke out against the mine. The mine’s private security force is also accused of gang-raping 11 Indigenous women, and the shooting and paralyzing of another local, German Chub. The case is currently being heard in the Ontario courts.

Given the disturbing realities related to the operations of Canadian mining companies overseas, Gibbs suggested to the audience that international solidarity is “not simply a passion of human rights advocates, but rather it is a prerequisite to genuine global citizenship.”

Author: Amber Buchanan is a member of the J. B McLachlan Media Collective