Environmental defenders testify about attacks in Latin America linked to Canadian mining companies

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights heard testimony Oct. 27 from representatives of six countries alleging harm linked to Canadian mining companies’ operations, including four alleged attacks on environmental defenders. The regional agency gathered in Panama to examine Canada’s obligations with respect to its extractive companies and their impact overseas on human rights and the environment. Canada is home to about half of the world’s publicly listed mining and mineral exploration companies with operations both in Canada and abroad. The latest revelations add to long-standing concerns about the conduct of Canadian mining companies overseas. Marco Manobanda, an Indigenous fish-farmer from Las Naves, Ecuador, testified that the El Domo copper and gold mine, owned by two Vancouver-based companies, Silvercorp Metals Inc. and Salazar Resources Ltd., is causing deforestation and water contamination where he lives, impacting the ecosystem and his livelihood. “If this mining continues, they’re going to keep polluting our water, and we’ll run out of resources. And since we make our living from that land and its resources, where are we supposed to go?” Manobanda said. The hearing comes about four months after the government eliminated the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), which was created to investigate complaints about human rights abuses and environmental harm linked to Canadian companies in the garment, mining and oil and gas sectors operating outside of Canada. In the wake of this decision, advocates say they have been left with limited options to seek meaningful redress. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an…This article was originally published on

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