Continental Day of Action Against Extractive Industry Abuses

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Created on Wednesday, 01 August 2012 06:39
Written by Press Release
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Extractive Industry Tarnishes Canada's Reputation
On August 1st 2012, there will be a Continental Day of Action to highlight the exploitive practices of Canada’s extractive industry including oil, gas, mining of precious metals and energy resources.
 
Close to 70 organizations representing impacted communities, labour, students, NGOs, solidarity groups, and environmental organizations in 35 cities across the Americas will conduct coordinated actions.
 
The aim of this campaign is to raise public awareness about the negative impacts of Canada’s extractive industry on indigenous and farming communities both globally and here in Canada.

Canada is a global mining giant that leaves a massive ecological footprint on the earth’s surface. Sixty per cent of the world’s exploration and mining companies are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. These corporations account for over 3200 projects around the world.

“We are a mining union.  We support responsible mining with well-paid jobs, good health and safety records, protection of the environment and respect for the communities, “says Ken Neumann, the United Steelworkers’ National Director for Canada. “But that is not how mining is been done in other parts of the world.”
 
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Across Canada, on August 1st, there will be letter-writing campaigns to public forums, street protests and theatre.

This unprecedented action demonstrates the broad and collective opposition to Harpers corporate driven polices and points to a growing and diverse coordinated hemispheric movement to hold the extractive industry accountable for systematic abuses. Increasingly, this industry, which lacks binding legislative regulation and operates under a self-regulated banner of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), is contributing to human rights violations, environmental degradation and the tarnishing of Canada's global reputation.

As Harper said at the recent summit of the Americans in Cartagena, Colombia, “Looking to the future, we see increased Canadian mining investment throughout the Americas - something that will be good for our mutual prosperity and is therefore a priority of our government.”  Not everyone agrees with Harpers vision of prosperity.
 
According to Raul Burbano from Common Frontiers and one of the organizers of the Continental Day of Action, “It’s exactly these types of corporate-driven policies that we are confronting. Looking to the future, what many communities see is increased displacement, re-militarization, destruction of community-based livelihoods, human rights violations, lack of community consultation, long -term health impacts and irreversible loss of biodiversity.’’  
 
Events and actions are planned across eleven cities in Canada. In Toronto, a carnival-style solidarity event will be held at on the south side of Queens Park  on August 1st from 12.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m. Organizers across Canada will educate people about the injustices of Canada’s extractive industry, the urgent need for legally-binding accountability, an end to abuses and the need to put people before profits.    
 
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            July 31, 2012, Toronto Canada

Raul Burbano – Common Frontiers Coordinator 416 522 8615

Caren Weisbart – Maritimes-Guatemala Solidarity Network 647 466 6643

 

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