On Monday December 5th, members of various community groups disrupted the Mining Business Risks conference. Crashing the opening plenary, concerned community members were protesting a conference that promised to help mining companies “successfully navigate” risks such as “environmental activist,” and “government regulation.”
From August’s Copiapó mining disaster in Chile where the mine refused to pay salaries, to last months kidnapping of journalists and activists in a Salvadoran environmental organization travelling to meet with the Guatemalan government, to protest a new Goldcorp’s Cerro Blanco mine, the environmental, social, and ethical practices of mining companies worldwide has been in the news.
“We are here because those companies shamelessly displace populations to extract the resources, without doing any land rehabilitation ; without cleaning the mess. Not to mention the horrible work conditions and the threats and deaths of union organizers”, says Marla Renn, a participant.
Since Goldcorp’s SFU’s acceptance of a controversial $10 million donation to Simon Fraser University and their subsequent renaming of their Arts Centre the Goldcorp Centre for Contemporary Arts, the human and environmental abuses of mining companies have been in the Vancouver spotlight.
“Goldcorp’s donation to housing and education came right as a series of bills that would make mining companies’ international activities fall into line with Canadian environmental laws,” said Myka Abramson from SFU Against Goldcorp and Gent ification. “They are trying to charity-wash their image. We are here to say we know about their human rights and environmental
record and we are not going to let them cover it up.”
“We see this conference as proof of the success of anti-mining and environmental activists around the world,” said Ms Renn. “They are a threat to mining companies and we will continue to be a threat until mining companies stop privileging profit over the environment, indigenous rights, worker’s rights, and basic human dignity.”
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