CONFERENCE - TORONTO, CANADA – APRIL 26
CANADIAN MINING, SUSTAINABILITY & ISSUES OF HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT & HUMAN RIGHTS
WHAT:  1 day conference about mining issues within Canada and abroad
WHEN:  Sunday, April 26, 2009, 10:00 am - 7:30 pm
WHERE:  Earth Sciences, Room 1050 (ES 1050), University of Toronto, 5 Bancroft Av, (St.George & College)
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SOME OF THE SPEAKERS:
* ULISES GARCIA PEREZ, a native of Peru and veteran of the Tambogrande resistance;
* SERGIO CAMPUSAN, of the Pueblo Diaguita Huascoaltinos, Chile, fighting Barrick Gold;
* VERONICA ISLAS, of FAO Montreal, fighting Metallica Resources in Cero de san Pedro, Mexico;
* GRAHAME RUSSELL, of Rights Action (www.rightsaction.org), speaking about harms and violations caused by Goldcorp Inc. in Honduras and Guatemala; and
* ROSALIA PAIVA, an Indigenous woman from the Global South and practitioner of Pachamama (a Mother Earth religion from the Andes), speaking on religion and mining.
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Moderated by Judy Rebick, the conference brings together indigenous people from the global south and north to address some of the social, political and environmental issues that relate to the imposition of extractive industries on traditional cultures.
MAJOR ISSUES INCLUDE: water use and contamination, human rights violations by Canadian companies operating abroad, the question of corporate social responsibility, health, the autonomy and preservation of traditional cultures, and the economics of mining.
MORE INFORMATION: Paul York, pyork_2002@hotmail.com
EVENT BLOG: http://underminingsustainability.wordpress.com/
TO TABLE AT THE EVENT OR BECOME A SPONSOR: indra@pantropy.net
COSTS:  $10 (sliding scale) to cover cost of meals; free for students. No registration required. Donations gladly accepted (available seating for 400 in auditorium).
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SCHEDULE
10:00 a.m. - Introductions, opening ceremony
10:30 a.m. - Open plenary speaker
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - FIRST BREAKOUT SESSION
- Historic Perspectives on Mining
- Mining in the Congo
- Mining and Health
- Resource Economics in developing countries
- Indigenous Issues and Mining
1pm - 2pm lunch break
1pm - 3pm: Concurrent with lunch: Role-playing workshop with Ardoch Algonquin leadership begins – Limited space available, so sign-up on the day of the conference!
2pm-4pm – SECOND BREAKOUT SESSION
- Human Rights: Issues with mine security
- ¡MesoAmerica Resiste! presentation by Beehive Collective
- Women’s issues in Mining
- Funding the destruction: TSX, Pension Funds, and Corporate Welfare
- Mining and Water
4:15 - 5:15pm – SOLUTIONS break-out session
*CSR/legislation* A discussion of the CSR framework and current legislation related to mining issues.
*Popular Education* A discussion of how to build awareness within our communities about mining issues, in a way that engages people and builds off the knowledge that they already possess.
*Legal Battles* A discussion about the use of lawsuits as a way of demanding accountability within Canada and beyond.
*Direct Action!* A discussion of how Direct Action is used in various campaigns.
*Shareholder Activism/Divestment* A discussion of different tactics engaging with shareholders, institutional holders, and “ethical” mutual funds.
*Referendums and accessing International Institutions (recommended for affected communities!)* Learn first hand about successful community-based tactics to defending community rights against mining companies. Learn from first hand experiences about engaging the UN, the ILO and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
5:30 p.m. -7:30 p.m. - Closing Plenary
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MORE INFORMATION: Paul York, pyork_2002@hotmail.com
EVENT BLOG: http://underminingsustainability.wordpress.com/
TO TABLE AT THE EVENT OR BECOME A SPONSOR: indra@pantropy.net
PLEASE FORWARD THIS INFORMATION (in the Greater Toronto area) - hope to see you there.
To get on/ off Rights Action's email list: http://www.rightsaction.org/lists/?p=subscribe&id=3
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