Residents of Aurizona say the Canadian mining company has failed to deliver on its promises. In addition to the inadequate water supply, the community denounces the company's attempt to criminalize local leaders.
Background:
Seven years after a catastrophic dam failure at the Mount Polley mine in British Columbia’s interior, the provincial government is still failing its duty to regulate the safety of hundreds of potentially dangerous dams, a new Auditor-General’s investigation has found.
Protests against the Escobal silver mine outside the Constitutional Court of Guatemala in 2018. Photo via Earthworks / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
As the federal election looms, leaders of all political stripes are promising to increase the zero-emission transportation sector through incentives and investments as a key tool to tackle the climate crisis.
But there’s a catch.
The Environmental Appeal Board found the mining company responsible for the worst mining disaster in Canadian history has failed to investigate and test long-term water treatment systems at the Mount Polley mine site, which currently relies on discharging waste into Quesnel Lake, one of the world’s deepest glacial lakes and a source of drinking water
On September 13th, the Mining Association of Canada presented its ‘Towards Sustainable Mining’ (TSM) standard at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade in a talk entitled “Critical Minerals, Canadian Advantage.” MiningWatch Canada and the BC Mining Law Reform (BCMLR) network released this backgrounder on the 7 myths about Towards Sustainable Mining’s voluntary standard, which the B.C.
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 Inc.’s death threat against the president of the Shuar Arutam People (PSHA), Josefina Tunki, and her colleagues.
The letter also denounces the corporate abuses by Solaris, which has promoted community division, intimidation and militarization of the Shuar Arutam territory in order to advance its Warintza mining project, and calls on the Canadian embassy and government to take immediate action.
(Vancouver) MiningWatch Canada is relieved that the B.C. Environmental Appeal Board (EAB) has dismissed Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley Mine appeal of its $9,000 fine for violating environmental permit requirements. The mining watchdog urges the B.C. government to beef up its environmental penalties, and stop ongoing water pollution in Quesnel Lake.
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 Inc.’s death threat against the president of the Shuar Arutam People (PSHA), Josefina Tunki, and her colleagues.
