Canada Mining Companies in Latin America Have Blood on Their Hands teleSUR
go to original October 25, 2016

An injured protester flees as riot police use tear gas and batons to disperse a 2014 protest against the Tambor mine, Guatemala (Reuters)

Canadian mining companies came under renewed criticism Monday for their role in dozens of deaths, hundreds of injuries, and their systemic criminalization of mostly nonviolent grassroots activists protesting their operations in Latin American countries over the past 15 years, a new report found. The report sheds further light on the notorious human rights and environmental track records of Canadian corporations extracting resources abroad.

Compiled by the Toronto-based Justice and Corporate Accountability Project at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School, the report documents incidents in over a dozen countries by 28 Canadian mining giants, including big names like Barrick Gold, Goldcorp and Tahoe Resources that have repeatedly garnered criticism for damning reports of human rights violations and environmental destruction at their mines. It also calls attention to the urgent need for greater accountability, both from corporations and the Canadian government, to treat reports of violence with the gravity they warrant.

In total, the “The ‘Canada Brand:’ Violence and Canadian Mining Companies in Latin America” documents 44 deaths - 30 of which are described as clearly “targeted” - across 11 countries and 403 injuries - 363 of which happened during protests and other confrontations - across 13 different countries, between 2000 and 2015.

It also records 709 cases of criminalization over the same period against opponents of mining activities, including arrests, charges, formal complaints and other litigation targeting activists and community leaders.

The report lays bare differences in the kinds of violence communities face at the hands of Canadian mining corporations in different countries.

Read the rest at teleSUR

Related: Guatemalans' Fight Against Rogue Canadian Mining Giant Heats Up (teleSUR)

Related: Mining Corporations vs. Democracy (teleSUR)

Related: 1 Killed, Several Injured in Clash Over Pipeline in Mexico (Associated Press)

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