Mining for Justice Action

"When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money..." Goldcorp - No more Mining - Terrorism CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees) members and other union members often ask me "Why should we care about international issues?" Well, there's so many reasons. One is, we all live on this globe together. And what happens here at the local level in Victoria British Columbia is just as connected to the international level as anything else that affects us. I'm Charleen Patterton and we're trying to join with other organizations and with CUPE members to get people involved in different issues and one of the main ones CUPE is focusing on right now is Canadian mining corporations and their actions in other countries. My name is Glenis Verhols and I'm a member of the Mining Justice Action Committee and I'm also a member of the Victoria Philippines Solidarity Group. and the reason why I got involved in the Mining Justice Action Committee was because I traveled to the Philippines and I saw the impacts of Canadian mining companies on communities in the Philippines. As a member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees I was shocked to learn that CUPE pension plans are heavily invested in Canadian mining and resource extraction companies. It's a terrible thing. The conduct of these companies overseas, whether it's in Latin America, in Burma, in the Congo. Canadian companies are raping the land, Their environmental and human rights tragedies are something we're barely aware of because there's such a silence through the Canadian media. QUIT INVESTING IN VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS HUMAN RIGHTS ABOVE MINING RIGHTS We like to think that Canada has a good reputation overseas. But I'd like us to know that the Canadian mining companies operating under our name, throughout the world are not leaving a good impression on the local communities and on the environment. We don't want this to be Canada's name overseas. That human rights violations and environmental destruction are what we leave behind - to ruin communities. We want to be part of supporting development. We want to be part of respecting communities. Respecting the environment. And I think we can do that if we work together to help create mechanisms to hold Canadian mining companies accountable. And that's what the Mining Justice Action Committee is all about. The pension funds need to be scrutinized through a human rights lens, through an environmental lens. We're encouraging CUPE members to get behind things. To look at where their pension funds are being invested. Because unfortunately, they're largely invested in some of these Canadian corporations - these mining companies. INJUSTICE MUST STOP