Surprising Changes at Equinox Gold

If memory serves us correctly, May 7 of this year was the last time we sent a letter to Mr. Greg Smith, then CEO of Canadian company Equinox Gold, which went unanswered, like many other letters and official communications we have sent him. These letters serve as proof not only of his discourtesy, but also of contempt, racism, and discrimination towards us, attitudes that were “inherited” by their two main operators at the Los Filos mine: the company's vice president in Mexico, Armando Fausto Ortega, and their social responsibility manager, Hugo Vergara.

Source
Agrarian Representatives of the Ejido de Carizalillo

Communities at Risk: New Barrick Tailings Dam Sparks Environmental and Human Rights Concerns in the Dominican Republic

Submitted by Diana on
Special Blog Type

Joint blog by MiningWatch Canada and Earthworks.

People living near the world's sixth-largest gold mine are taking legal action to protect their communities, ecosystems, and their rights.

Local communities and civil society organizations have filed two constitutional protection actions (amparos) calling for an immediate halt to Barrick Mining Corporation's recent efforts to begin construction of their massive new dam that would hold mine waste, including tailings and waste rock. 

Canada needs to reset its free trade plans with Ecuador

Peggy Nash, Viviana Herrera and Caren Weisbart, the Hill Times

Human rights, not corporate rights, should drive international trade relations under this new government.

International relations today are rife with difficult challenges to peace, security, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and a healthy environment.

Source
The Hill Times

Ecuador: Azuay Says No to Environmental Licence for Dundee Precious Metals

Submitted by Viviana on

Environmental defenders in Southern Ecuador filed an injunction (medida cautelar) against Canadian-owned Loma Larga project and announced several actions protesting the arbitrary decision of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (“MAATE”) to grant an environmental licence for exploitation to Dundee Precious Metals. 

A first in Québec: Ahead of a referendum on the "La Loutre" graphite mine in five municipalities in the Outaouais region, the No Committee launches its campaign

Duhamel, July 8, 2025 — After six years of criticizing the La Loutre mining project for its incompatibility with the environmental, economic, and tourist resources of the Outaouais region, the Regroupement de protection des Lacs de la Petite-Nation (RPLPN) is launching a grassroots civic engagement campaign ahead of the local referendums regarding the mine's social acceptance, which will be held simultaneously on August 31 in the municipalities of Duhamel, Lac des Plages, Lac Simon, Chénéville, and Saint-Émile de Suffolk.

Source
Regroupement de protection des lacs de la Petite-Nation, Non à La Loutre Committee
Key Issues

Over 280 Ecuadorian and International Organizations Speak Out Against the Criminalization and Violence against Environmental Defenders Resisting Canadian Mining

Quito-Ottawa: Yesterday, July 2, 2025, 283 Ecuadorian, Canadian, and international organizations, unions, and coalitions sent a letter expressing deep concern about the systematic criminalization of 29 human rights and land defenders in Bolivar province in Ecuador, due to their legitimate and peaceful opposition to the Canadian owned Curipamba-El Domo mining project.

Source
MiningWatch Canada, Proyecto Dulcepamba, Acción Ecológica

At a Canadian-Owned Mine, a Mexican Union Alleges Dirty Tactics

A North American labour dispute panel is examining allegations union members were threatened into joining a competing union.

by Isaac Phan Nay

The union for workers at the Camino Rojo mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, is calling for Canada and the United States to resolve allegations its members were threatened into joining a competing union.

Orla Mining, a $3.8-billion company based in Vancouver, owns and operates the gold and silver mine, which sits 580 kilometres northwest of Mexico City.

Source
The Tyee

Environmental and civil society groups react: Bill C-5 becomes law, setting a dangerous precedent

(Unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin Territories – Ottawa) Environmental and civil society groups condemn Parliament’s reckless passage of Bill C-5’s controversial Building Canada Act. The Act erodes democratic principles, runs roughshod over Indigenous rights, shuts Canadians out of decisions that could affect them, and puts the environment at risk.

Source
Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat (CAN-Rac) Canada
Key Issues
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