Jamie Kneen

Prosperity mine demonstrates environmental assessments more critical than ever

MiningWatch — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 19:30:31 +0000

Ecojustice and MiningWatch Canada head to court this week to defend Fish Lake ("Teztan Biny" in Tsilhqot'in) from a risky mining project.

Mining projects often put communities and the environment in great peril -- we only need to look to the Mount Polley tailings spill to see an example of the long-lasting devastation they can cause.

That's why we'll be in court this week to help uphold a federal assessment that found the New Prosperity mine project in Tsilhqot'in territory in central B.C. would have serious ecological and cultural impacts.

Federal government opens door to paradigm shift in environmental assessment

MiningWatch — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 12:56:12 +0000

No less than six cabinet ministers stood in the foyer of the House of Commons yesterday to announce sweeping reviews of key environmental laws. The details are not clear yet -- in fact, the government has (perhaps wisely) asked for public input before it finalizes the review processes.

It is clear that there is an opportunity to not only undo the damage that the Harper government had done to environmental assessment and the protection of fish and fish habitat, but to go much further and fundamentally change our approach to environmental planning and industrial development.

Supreme Court of Canada affirms international enforcement of the law, allows Ecuadorans to pursue Chevron assets in Canada

MiningWatch — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 19:25:41 +0000

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In a small but significant step towards ending corporate impunity for destroying the environment and people's health, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Ecuadoran villagers should be allowed to try to get hold of Chevron assets in Canada, to collect on the $9.51 billion (USD) that Ecuadoran courts had awarded them for extensive pollution of the Amazon rainforest.

Canadian mine among sites of gross human rights violations in Eritrea: UN report

MiningWatch — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 01:35:07 +0000

A new report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea describes "a totalitarian state bent on controlling Eritreans through a vast security apparatus that has penetrated all levels of society." Nevsun's Bisha gold-copper mine is repeatedly cited for appalling labour abuses by the company's Eritrean contractors, including forced labour and inhuman living and working conditions.

The findings clearly echo the charges levelled against the company last year in a lawsuit on behalf of former workers at the site.

The range of alleged human rights allegations that the commission investigated is extraordinary:

Imagine if Canada were Open for Justice!

MiningWatch — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 22:03:21 +0000

At MiningWatch we live and breathe news about mining. But what’s good news for companies and their investors may be bad news for affected communities and anyone concerned about issues like human rights, the environment, economic justice, government accountability… (the list is long). We have to give ourselves a slap up the head every once in a while and face the fact that mining controversies are not yet household issues. We need to remind ourselves that even the person on the street who cares about global issues may not be mulling over the latest news about dead rivers or peoples dispossessed due to a mining operation, whether in Canada or elsewhere.

Gold and democracy don't mix: Eldorado Gold faces determined opposition in Greece

MiningWatch — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:10:37 +0000

As Eldorado Gold holds its annual shareholders’ meeting in Vancouver today, Canadians may ask themselves why the company’s plans to mine gold in northern Greece are meeting such strong resistance from residents and even some local authorities. There are really only two problems: what the company is planning to do, and how it is going about doing it.

New investment agreements show Canadian commitment to Africa mining vision a hollow promise

MiningWatch — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 18:08:19 +0000

The Canadian government’s big announcement for this year’s Prospectors and Developers Association conference (PDAC) wasn’t the automatic renewal of tax credits for “flow-through” shares -- a $100 million dollar a year subsidy for exploration companies -- or even a creative new way of diverting international development aid money to support Canadian mining projects in the developing world. No, it was a pair of investment agreements, one with Cameroon and one with Zambia.

Federal government balking at first small step to rebuild Environmental Assessment

MiningWatch — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 18:19:06 +0000

Change the conversation, support rabble.ca today.

Nerd alert: Discussion of tedious yet vital regulatory procedure ahead.

Shining a light on the federal government's false claims on Environmental Assessment and the Budget

MiningWatch — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:25:41 +0000

Federal budgets weren’t always this controversial. Sure, there was a tough public debate around the financial direction the government was taking, but – that was all. Radical changes to environmental governance, public services, and the whole concept of the public interest? This is quite new.

Federal government hides behind budget with changes to environmental assessment

MiningWatch — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:27:33 +0000

The Harper Government™ has made no secret of its plan for environmental protection, planning, and assessment; it's a necessary complement to its economic strategy, which essentially consists of extracting as much wealth from the ground as quickly as possible, unencumbered by niceties like public consultation or the free, prior, informed consent of affected Aboriginal peoples.

Crossroads on the tundra

rabble staff — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:16:55 +0000

What's going on in Nunavut is a test of democracy in Canada's newest territory.

Baker Lake struggles under pressure to allow uranium mining

rabble staff — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 06:40:56 +0000

Thursday, April 7, 2011

What's going on in Nunavut is a test of democracy in Canada's newest territory. A huge complex of uranium mines is proposed for the tundra, in the middle of important caribou habitat.

Baker Lake, Nunavut, is the geographic centre of Canada, but it's rarely the centre of attention for most Canadians. And yet what's going on here is nothing less than a test of democracy in Canada's newest territory. A huge complex of uranium mines is being proposed for the tundra west of Baker Lake, in the middle of important caribou habitat.