Newsletter 01: Autumn 1999

On the weekend of September 10-12, 1999, MiningWatch Canada and the Innu Nation convened a gathering of representatives from aboriginal communities throughout Canada that had been affected by mining. The Innu wanted the gathering to share what they were learning through the environmental assessment and land rights negotiations with respect to the Voisey's Bay project, but it was also an opportunity for aboriginal groups to set an agenda for MiningWatch's work with them. A general invitation was sent out, and 32 communities and organisations eagerly responded. Eighty people came.

The Canadian Export Development Agency (EDC) provides public financing and political risk insurance to Canadian companies investing in large-scale projects overseas. In 1997, EDC worked with 3,711 customers in 145 global markets. It is a federal crown corporation.

This past Spring, Natural Resources Canada (a.k.a. NRCan) initiated a multi-stage, multi-stakeholder process that MiningWatch Canada has been involved in. The first stage, which is ongoing, is meant to discern 'Canadian values' that might inform indicators that will measure 'progress' in the mining sector with respect to sustainable development.