On October 15, 2020, the Xinka Parliament announced that Guatemalan authorities have finally recognized their representatives elected to participate in a consultation on the Escobal silver mine. Along with other agreements, this breakthrough could allow the court-ordered process over the future of the mine to advance after being stalled for over two years. 

As Ottawa and Quebec develop multi-billion dollar recovery plans that aim, in particular, to expand extractive mining to feed the growth in electric batteries, we call on our governments to implement needed reforms to ensure this does not undermine the sustainability of transportation. To enable a green and just economic recovery, governments must prioritize strategies that will reduce both greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the environmental footprint of natural resource use.

See also the answers provided to our network by each of the main political parties on mining reforms in BC: NDP | LIB | GREEN

(Ottawa) Canadian unions and civil society organizations sent a letter today to Canadian mining company Orvana Minerals, condemning the company’s actions in firing the entire workforce at its Don Mario Mine Complex in Bolivia in February of this year. The company is the sole owner of Empresa Minera Paititi (EMIPA), which operates the gold mine in eastern Bolivia that, up until February, supported 130 unionized mine workers and their families.

(Ottawa) Public interest groups across Canada are criticizing the federal government for funding small nuclear reactor development and are challenging the government to release the research and data that support its strategy.

Ministers Seamus O’Regan and Navdeep Bains last week announced a $20 million grant to Terrestrial Energy in Ontario to continue developing a molten salt reactor. More funding announcements for new nuclear reactors are expected in the coming weeks.

After 42 days of camping out to stop operations at the Los Filos mine in Guerrero, México, the Ejido of Carrizalillo has issued a public statement (translated below) to Equinox Gold’s top management calling on the company to send a new negotiating team after talks broke down this week over a new social-cooperation agreement. The current mine stoppage has now surpassed the last blockade that took place in April 2014, when Goldcorp still operated the mine, which lasted 31 days.

[updated November 25, 2020] 

The outcome of this significant case will set a precedent for all future Rights of Nature cases, and could dramatically limit the ability of mining companies to operate in Ecuador, specifically the current activities of Canadian mining company, Cornerstone Resources. 

As the extraction of minerals continue to grow exponentially worldwide, including to supply increasing demand for energy transition technologies and batteries for electric vehicles, the Responsible Mineral Index 2020 (RMI 2020) concludes that "even the best mining companies" still fail to meet society's expectations to protect human rights and the environment.

On October 7, 2020, MiningWatch submitted a brief to Global Affairs Canada with detailed recommendations for a complete overhaul of Canada’s National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines). This Canadian non-judicial body was set up to receive complaints filed by people from around the world who have been harmed by the activities of Canadian corporations that have breached the OECD Guidelines in their operations.