Canadian Mining Interests in South America

Dear Friends,
I would be remiss in being grateful for everything we received during Living Gold 2012, if I did not bring up this subject.
It was put before us, very concisely, by different groups from South America.
Especially for Canadians, who like to think we are one of the "nicest" countries, this is an international disgrace. It is our shame in the most far-reaching sense of the word.
We cannot claim ignorance, now that it has been brought to our attention. It is one of the deepest wrongs in terms of economics, that public shareholders often have no clue as to what a company actually does, or how their operations impact the country in which they are working or have vested interests.
These were words of truth, which we must pay attention to. Not only is the land itself being destroyed, but through the use of poisonous chemicals, the water as well. Try to imagine just exactly how cyanide and mercury destroy the soil and water. Try to imagine what happens to the people working with these poisons, and communities who live nearby. What is it doing to the children??? We have all heard of the long term devastation of nuclear plant meltdowns - this is equally as horrendous.
The huge amounts of water used is water desperately needed for communities.
Canadian mining interests in South America are depriving communities of land and water needed to sustain life itself. It does not provide a great deal of local employment, nor does it mean communities benefit in other ways to much extent, as we all have heard of the corruption in various governments.
It is time to shine a spotlight on these practices, just as was done in the blood diamonds of South Africa.
One only has to take a very short look on the internet to find reliable reports:
Check out articles in The Guardian (Povertymatters blog) and the Smithsonian.com (the devastating costs of the Amazon Gold Rush) for starters.
As global citizens, we cannot pretend that our actions and consumerism here in North America have no impact anywhere else - they can and they do, to our shame. We have to be responsible in terms of what we buy, and where and how we choose to invest. Is it sustainable, how does it impact local communities and economies. Who exactly is benefitting?
It's bad enough we allow these things to happen here at home. It's time we took responsibility for how we impact innocent and vulnerable people elsewhere.

Sparky