One of Canada’s dirty “secrets” is that our mining industry is responsible for environmental and human rights abuses around the world. Companies like INCO and Barrick are operating mines that are polluting land and taking away people’s livelihoods. In many cases, people who organize against these mines face violence and, sometimes, death.
Usually, the national government of a country receive significant revenue from the mine and allows and often supports mining even though the local people are strongly opposed. However, there’s some good news from the Pakistani province of Balochistan, where Barrick Gold has just been told to leave at the end of an exploration contract. For once, the national government is listening to the local people. You can follow the destruction that Barrick is causing in other parts of the world at protestbarrick.net and find out more about the Canadian mining industry at miningwatch.ca.