At MiningWatch we live and breathe news about mining. But what’s good news for companies and their investors may be bad news for affected communities and anyone concerned about issues like human rights, the environment, economic justice, government accountability…(the list is long). We have to give ourselves a slap up the head every once in a while and face the fact that mining controversies are not yet household issues. We need to remind ourselves that even the person on the street who cares about global issues may not be mulling over the latest news about dead rivers or peoples dispossessed due to a mining operation, whether in Canada or elsewhere.
So given Canada’s huge role in the globalized mining sector (75% per cent of the world’s mining and mineral exploration companies are headquartered here), we jumped at the chance to join the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA)’s Open for Justice campaign. The campaign makes a single, straightforward demand: where international communities suffer corporate abuse at the hands of a Canadian mining company and are unable to access domestic or international courts, let Canada be a viable option. Let Canada show the world it is “Open for Justice”.
How to get the word out?
We collaborated with a group of volunteers and professional videographer Steven Hunt, of SDC Video Production, to produce a short video that would speak to that person on the street. It wouldn’t get into the weeds on the issues – our campaign page (well, our entire site) and those of other CNCA member organisations have all the weeds anyone could possibly want to wade through. Rather, it would speak to Canadian pride. We’re supposed to be the good guys, right, everyone loves Canada? Don’t they?
Here’s the result. It’s a professional, provocative and powerful little video. Please watch and share, and let us know what you think.