Today, Frequency Feminisms talked with activist, journalist and community advocate, Sakura Saunders who is well known for her work in placing checks and balances on the activities of mining companies, especially Barrick Gold. Sakura is the editor of protestbarrick.net- a website dedicated to tracking and documenting both the abuses perpetrated by Barrick Gold (Canada’s largest mining company) as well as the worldwide indigenous led community struggles against Barrick Gold and other mining companies. Most of the worlds mining operations take place on indigenous lands and because indigenous peoples often have little to no power within their countries political systems, their resources are routinely exploited, their local environments (including water sources) degraded and destroyed and their human and worker rights violated with impunity. Spring (April-May) is shareholder season in Toronto and Sakura described the convergence presently underway- leaders and activists from around the world will converge in Toronto in the next few weeks and will share their experiences and learn from one another. She’s involved with the Community Solidarity Response Toronto (CSRT).
The CSRT “works to bring the voices and experiences of communities impacted by Canadian extractive industries to Toronto, where much of this industry is based. As Canada is a leader within the international mining industry, we recognize the pressing need for a movement within Canada to demand accountability in this sector. We also recognize that any activism related to these industries must take its direction from the impacted communities themselves. As such, CSRT works in alliance with affected communities and aims to be responsive to their calls for support”.
If you would like to keep informed of future actions and developments, you can join CSRT on Facebook.
Here are a few upcoming mining (in)justice actions:
Once a year, the board of directors for the world's most powerful gold miner converge in downtown Toronto. Be there to Confront Barrick Gold!
WHAT: Protest and Press Conference outside Barrick Gold's Annual General Meeting
WHEN: Wednesday, April 28. 11am protest
WHERE: Metro Convention Center, 255 Front St. Toronto
WHO is Barrick Gold? Barrick is the world's largest gold mining company, founded and chaired by Peter Munk. Barrick is one of the biggest forces pushing Corporate Social Responsibility as an
alternative to government oversight. With a former executive on the board of the Canadian Pension Fund, and a former Prime Minister on their board of directors, Barrick enjoys public funding and diplomatic support.
WHO is coming to speak out: Jethro Tulin, Executive Officer, Akali Tange Association
Mark Ekepa, Chairman, Porgera Landowners Association Idolia del Carmen Bordones Jorquera, Representantes Sectoriales, Diaguita Huascoaltinos Jaime Nibaldo Ardiles Ardiles, Representantes Sectoriales, Diaguita Huascoaltinos Zafar Baluch, Baloch Human Rights Council
WHY Protest Barrick? Barrick takes advantage of inadequate and poorly enforced regulatory controls to rob indigenous people of their lands, destroy sensitive ecosystems and agricultural land, support brutal
military and security operations, and sue anyone who tries to report on it. Impacted communities are coming to Toronto to share their undeniable perspectives and shed light on this criminal mining giant.
Come out and support them!
Representatives from the Porgera Landowners Association and the Akali Tange Association from Porgera, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea will share their experiences with Barrick Gold and announce their demands of the company. Their visit to Canada follows the release of an Amnesty International report detailing forced evictions and house burnings near Barrick's Porgera Mine. see report: “Undermining Rights: Forced evictions and police brutality around the Porgera gold mine,
Papua New Guinea”
Members of the Diaguita Huascoaltinos Indigenous and Agricultural Community, who recently had their claim against the Chilean State admitted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, will speak
out about Barrick's operation on their lands without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent. see Diaguita Huascoaltinos announcement of the IACHR complaint.
More info: protestbarrick.net. If you are interested in helping make food, art, or music at the event, please contact sakura.saunders@gmail.com
RSVP via facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.
*May 7-9, Toronto! mining (in)justice: a conference on Canadian Extractive Industries*
Mining (in)justice: at home and abroad is a conference on the Canadian mining industry (including Tar Sands) set to take place in Toronto on the weekend of May 7-9, 2010. It will feature leaders in
movements against Canadian mining companies both within and outside of Canada and provide space for growing our own movements in alliance with communities impacted by this industry.
This is a follow-up conference to last year’s mining conference, which brought over 20 front line defenders to share their stories and strategize solutions to ending corporate impunity and strengthening
the struggles against destructive mining projects around the world.
This year, we are expanding the conference into a 3 day event, providing more space for participants to meet each other, form alliances, and plan actions to foster a movement in solidarity with impacted communities.
for more information and to find out how to get involved!
solidarityresponse.net, e-mail: csrtoronto@gmail.com
Stay tuned for information about the conference schedule and line-up of speakers…
We also talked about the recent pardon granted to Canada’s Rosa Parks- Viola Desmond. Viola Desmond, a black woman, was forcibly removed from a movie theatre in November 1946 for sitting in the whites-only section of a movie theatre. Her activism had a lasting impact on the African-Canadian community and led another African-Canadian woman (who herself and her son) had had a similar experience to found a newspaper to discuss the issue. Viola was granted a free pardon by the lieutenant-governor of the province of Nova Scotia and an apology by its premier for the institutional racism she had suffered (this was intended as an apology for her family and for all African-Canadians). Her sister and remaining family was present for the historic event- an apology that came almost 63 years later. We talked both about the relative obscurity of Viola Deomond compared to her counterpart in the States (Rosa Parks) and also about the tendency in some mainstream media outlets to pronounce the apology as somehow indicative of an end to institutional and systemic racism. The apology and free pardon came about a month and a half after a similar apology for the distruction of Africville in 1967.
Finally, we discussed the recent decision of the provincial government to slash the special diet allowance for people on Ontario Works and ODSP as part of a broader discussion on eating and living healthy and affordable. Check out the next post for healthy living tips from our very own Neena Saloiya.
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