 
NEWS RELEASE
Mexican and Philippine towns bear brunt of destructive Canadian
mining practices: federal government fails to respond
October 20, 2005
For Immediate Release
(Toronto) KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
today condemned the federal government’s failure to ensure
Canadian mining companies adhere to internationally accepted human
rights and environmental standards when operating abroad. KAIROS
is particularly concerned about two urgent cases in Mexico and the
Philippines.
KAIROS is a national organization that unites 11 Canadian churches
and church agencies working on social justice issues. It is responding
to a government report released on Tuesday that rejects recommendations
of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(SCFAIT) which would help prevent Canadian companies becoming complicit
in violating accepted human rights and environmental standards overseas.
“Canadian mining companies operating abroad often have little
regard for human rights or the environment. This week the federal
government failed to take any action to stop them,” says Rusa
Jeremic, a KAIROS Global Economic Justice Program Coordinator.
Mining in Developing Countries, the government’s response
to SCFAIT, fails to implement recommendations that would hold Canadian
mining companies accountable for human rights or environmental violations
committed abroad.
The lack of government action will have immediate consequences
for the historic town of Cerro de San Pedro, Mexico, which is facing
imminent danger from Canadian mining activity. Last week a violent
explosion shook the town and its centuries-old buildings as Toronto-based
Metallica Resources Inc. started blasting to develop an open
pit gold and silver mine, which the community has been fighting
for over ten years.
“We feel helpless,” says Ana Maria Alvarado Garcia,
a resident of the community, who felt the explosion from over 1.5
kilometres away. “All we are asking for is respect –
respect for our culture, respect for our village, respect for our
wishes.” The villagers of Cerro de San Pedro fear the open
pit mine will destroy their way of life, their historic village
and the surrounding ecosystem through contamination of the water
supply with cyanide.
“How long will the government keep its head in the sand around
Canadian mining abuses overseas?” asks Rev. Mark Lewis, former
moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, who travelled to
Cerro de San Pedro on a KAIROS delegation in March 2005. “Clearly
it’s time for Canada to hold mining companies accountable.”
In its response Tuesday, the federal government also failed to launch
an investigation, as requested by the SCFAIT, into the controversial
Canatuan Mine Project in the Philippines. The Canatuan Mine is owned
by Calgary-based TVI Pacific Inc. Earlier this year, indigenous
leaders from the Philippines testified before a parliamentary subcommittee
about the forced relocation of their people and negative environmental
impacts connected with the mine.
“The Canadian government is failing the people of the Philippines
by not investigating serious human rights questions raised by TVI
Pacific’s activities,” says Ian Thomson, KAIROS Corporate
Social Responsibility Program Coordinator.
In June of this year, the SCFAIT adopted a groundbreaking report
on mining and corporate social responsibility. The recommendations
in the report have been strongly supported by many human rights,
labour and faith-based groups in Canada, including KAIROS.
Media contact:
Adiat Junaid
Communications Coordinator
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
416-463-5312 ext.223
ajunaid
www.kairoscanada.org
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