Newsletter 17: Autumn 2004

The Board of Directors of MiningWatch Canada met in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, on October 1 to 3, 2004. The meeting included a tour of the closed Giant Mine and presentations from the Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency, CPAWS (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, NWT Chapter), and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). Bringing our Board members from around the country to the NWT was a fine experience for the Board and our hosts.

MiningWatch has submitted comments on the Victor Diamond Mine Environmental Assessment. This huge project, on the traditional territory of Attawapiskat First Nation, is being proposed by DeBeers. It may drain and dry out over 1950 square kilometres of muskeg, will dramatically affect flows an important fish-bearing river, and will have untold effects on the social, cultural and economic life of the region.

From October 1 to 9 MiningWatch's Catherine Coumans attended the Third International Women in Mining Conference in Visakhapatnam, Andra Pradesh, India. She made a brief presentation based on the research she has coordinated for MiningWatch Canada on women, mining and health in collaboration with Canadian women in West Labrador.