At the beginning of May, Sr. Phyllis Douillard, Dorothy Guha Associate and I were invited by Kairos to attend an ecumenical conference in Toronto, on “mining”.  150 participants from around the world reflected on the repercussions of Canadian mining companies on communities. 

50 participants had come from Latin America, Asia, Africa and Pacific areas of the world.  It was an opportunity to meet Canadians and others who had come from Europe and the United States who play various roles in the mining industries.

Some suggestions were made in order to effect changes:

• supporters must work in solidarity toward changing the laws in Canada, so that enterprises that work abroad be better regulated.
• investors must be concerned with the moral implications of the actions of the mining companies operating in different countries.
• peoples of the First Nations in the Indian territories of Canada must have adequate laws in order to better protect their rights and their lands.

 These sharings were educationally and interculturally enriching.

Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini from Guatemala expressed that it is the poorest of the poor who are negatively impacted by these mining companies.

We understand that we have work to do to support these communities. Our actions here in the North America can make a difference to communities threatened by negative changes in the environment and the impact on the health of the people, as a result of mining.

For further information, visit the Kairos site

Claudette Bastien snjm