Newsletter 01: Autumn 1999

Wednesday, October 27, 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.

Wednesday, October 27, 1999

Next spring, MiningWatch Canada will bring together 30 leaders from communities affected by Canadian mining companies around the world to share their stories and develop a framework for research projects located in their experience of mining in all its stages. A video and booklet will also come out of the meeting.

Wednesday, October 27, 1999

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.

Wednesday, October 27, 1999

In September MiningWatch received numerous urgent reports and pictures from the Philippines about a struggle between a local tribal group and a Canadian mining company, TVI Pacific. Calgary-based TVI (Toronto Ventures Incorporated) is accused of harassment and intimidation of indigenous Subanen people in the Philippines who are trying to stop the company from conducting exploratory drilling in preparation for opening a mine on their ancestral land.

Wednesday, October 27, 1999

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.

Wednesday, October 27, 1999

MiningWatch Canada has issued press releases regarding the environmental assessment of the Diavik project, TVI's activities in the Philippines, and the government liability at the Giant and Faro mines, as well as a joint release on the Ok Tedi mine in Papua New Guinea (partly owned by Inmet of Toronto) together with the Mineral Policy Center and Project Underground in the USA and the Mineral Policy Institute of Australia.