Canada: Getting away with murder?

When a Canadian mining company asked a notorious security outfit to evict Mayan families from Lote Ocho and La Union, Guatemala — eleven women were raped, houses were burnt to the ground, a community leader was killed and another young man paralyzed. Now villagers are standing up and suing Hudbay Minerals for these horrific crimes — but they need our help to win. 

Until now, mining companies housed in Canada and run by Canadians, have been above the law, causing atrocities across Latin America. But this time they went too far — experts say they could lose their case in Canadian courts and finally be held accountable for their violence.

If we raise enough funds to give these villagers the same legal firepower as Hudbay’s corporate machine, we can achieve justice for the victims and establish new rules forcing all Canadian companies to clean up their act abroad and stop these abuses. Click on the link below to chip in. If just 20,000 of us donate today, we could end the mining murders for good:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/canada_mining_murder/?vl 

Dozens of companies and their contractors stand accused of trampling on the human rights of local communities. Toronto’s Barrick Gold is accused of rape and killings in Papua New Gunea and Tanzania, Vancouver’s Copper Mesa is accused of harassing and displacing locals in Ecuador, and Goldcorp stands accused of polluting streams in Honduras with toxic chemicals. But we can prevent these atrocities if we win this case.

Canadian mining companies often act with impunity because they think Canadian courts won’t police whatever crimes they commit overseas. Or they set up shell corporations designed to protect their Canadian headquarters from liability. But in this case they’ve gone too far and the facts are on our side. If we win this case, it will set a precedent that can stop rape, save entire villages, and protect the environment from Canadian corporations.

These firms have millions and millions of dollars and will do whatever it takes to win this case because they know it’s a game changer.Giving just a small amount will help us fight to bring them to justice. click here to help:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/canada_mining_murder/?vl 

Courts are supposed to be places where people go to get justice. Too often these days, corporate interests have made them the bastions of the rich and powerful. We can begin to change that. The villagers of Lote Ocho and their community had their rights violated by a giant company that thinks it’s immune. Let’s show them and their ilk that no one is above the law.

With hope and determination,

Emma, Andrew, Ian, Ari, Ricken, Diego and the whole Avaaz team 

Sources 

Widow files $12M suit against mining company (CBC) 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2010/12/02/mining-lawsuit002.html 

Guatemalan lawsuits to continue against HudBay, says lawyer (Mining Weekly)
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/lawsuits-against-hudbay-over-guatemalan-project-to-continue-says-lawyer-2011-08-10

Lawsuits against Canadian company HudBay Minerals Inc. over human rights abuse in Guatemala ( Klippensteins) 
http://www.chocversushudbay.com/ 

Award Winning Mining Company Being Sued for Violent Death of Community Leader: Industry Out of Step with Canadian Values and Expectations (Mining Watch Canada)
http://www.miningwatch.ca/fr/node/6609

Claims of sexual abuses in Tanzania blow to Barrick Gold (Globe and Mail) 
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/claims-of-sexual-abuses-in-tanzania-blow-to-barrick-gold/article2040735/

COPPER MESA MINING CORP (Bloomberg)
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp? 

Bill C-300, An Act respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas in Developing Countries (Frank Valeriote, MP for Guelph, Ontario)
http://www.frankvaleriotemp.ca/latestnews.aspx?id=2081

Free trade and Goldcorp’s San Martin mine in Honduras (Council of Canadians)
http://canadians.org/blog/?p=10519