A case before the Federal Court of Appeal this week shines a light on why we urgently need not only corporate accountability, but government accountability when it comes to Canadian mining operations abroad. In 2009, Mexican environment defender Mariano Abarca was killed for denouncing...
We Can’t Mine Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis! Real Action Needed at Cop26
[Updated to add Publish What You Pay statement released Nov.1] The science is undeniable. If our world has a hope of limiting global warming to 2℃ and avoiding even greater climate catastrophe, we must limit our consumption of fossil fuels — and fast. But the rush towards the energy transition can...
MiningWatch Canada Pleased to Welcome New Communications Coordinator Val Croft
MiningWatch Canada is excited to announce that Valerie Croft has joined our staff as Communications Coordinator. Her skills and experience will bring us added capacity and will allow us to be more creative, more thorough, and more effective in our public communications, media work, and social...
Declaration of Solidarity with the Communities of Monte Plata, Dominican Republic
We, the undersigned organizations, express our continued solidarity with the communities in Monte Plata resisting Barrick Gold’s expansion activities in the Dominican Republic. As Barrick Gold continues with its proposed expansion of the Pueblo Viejo gold mine, which would include the construction...
Regreening Sudbury – Burying the Mining Industry's Dirty Secrets
In late August, The Conversation published an article promoting "What mining, oil and gas industries can learn from Sudbury, the city that went from major polluter to thriving environment". It was picked up by the National Post, The Narwhal, Corporate Knights, and a number of aggregator sites. The...
The Shuar Arutam People (PSHA) Denounces Mining Company Solaris Resources Inc.’s Violent Attempt To Bring Heavy Machinery Into Our Territory
On August 26, 2021, the Shuar Arutam People, along with 136 other Ecuadorian and Canadian organizations, including MiningWatch Canada, sent a letter to Sylvie Bédard, Canada’s Ambassador to Ecuador, asking her to issue a formal public statement condemning Canadian mining company Solaris Resources...
International Organizations Join Shuar Arutam People to Press Canadian Embassy in Ecuador to Condemn Canadian Company’s Threats and Abuses
On August 26, 2021, the Shuar Arutam People, along with 136 other Ecuadorian and Canadian organizations, including MiningWatch Canada, sent a letter to Sylvie Bédard, Canada’s Ambassador to Ecuador, asking her to issue a formal public statement condemning Canadian mining company Solaris Resources...
INV Metals’ Loma Larga Project Acquired by Canadian Company with Toxic Environmental Record in Eastern Europe and Africa
On the evening of May 31, 2021, communities in Cuenca, Ecuador were hit with shocking news when it was announced that Vancouver-based mining company INV Metals had been acquired by Toronto-based Dundee Precious Metals. No one saw this coming. INV Metals had been (and still is) running ads...
Ban Seabed Mining! Embracing Our Culture
Show your support and solidarity with The Kono Community in Papua New Guinea! On July 29th and 30th the Kono community in the West Coast Barok Area of the Namatanai District, New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea will stage the Cultural Shark Calling Festival as a form of protest against deep sea...
Putaendo Won't Surrender
Communities of Putaendo, in Chile’s Valparaíso region, have filed a judicial appeal with the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA in Spanish), demonstrating various omissions and inaccuracies made by the Canadian mining company during the Environmental Assessment of its Vizcachitas project. In a...
Uranium City – What happened to the miners?
(Guest blog by Paul Filteau) In June of 1981, a company executive from Eldorado had flown in to Uranium City, Saskatchewan to announce closure of the Beaverlodge Mine, the main employer. It was completely unexpected. It was a tight knit and prosperous community. The 3000 residents were stunned!
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Opinion: On Climate, Has Natural Resources Minister Been Captured by the Mining Lobby?
The federal minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Seamus O’Regan Jr., has recently co-signed a series of opinion pieces across the country (e.g. here, here) that, simply put, cross an ethical line. In these letters, Minister O’Regan joins the CEO of Canada’s largest mining lobby group to promote the...
Canada’s Role in Deep Seabed Mining
Join MiningWatch Canada, Oceans North and other Canadian organizations in calling for a moratorium on deep seabed mining in international waters. Sign the parliamentary petition we have co-sponsored. Canadian mining companies are on the forefront of efforts to extend mining and its harmful impacts...
“Allumettières” Recognition Award
Last Saturday, I had the great honour and surprise of receiving the “Allumettières” Recognition Award from the regional Fédération Intercoopérative de l'Outaouais, including for the commitment and work done with Coalition Québec Meilleure Mine and MiningWatch Canada.
This award, which was as...
Centerra Gold: The Ugly Face of Canadian Capitalism
Back in the early 1990s, the Kumtor mine was meant to become newly independent Kyrgyzstan’s ticket to prosperity. Kumtor, the seventh largest gold deposit in the world at the time, became the first mine in Central Asia to be operated by a Western company. But as often is the case with resource...