Predatory practices and corruption in/from Canada

[Smallc]

or Jason Kenney using government staff and resources for campaign fundraising....

or Bernier leaving NATO documents lying around so they could "accidentally" get into the hands of the Hell's Angels.

or the "In and Out" scandal.

Those are 'scandals' only to some. They aren't really scandals at all, for the most part.

[olp1fan]

Clements slush fund in most countries would not be a big deal since it happens often

but here in Canada its I'd say a medium sized scandal

[jacee]

Canada's mining sector is problemmatic at home and abroad. Since the government - past and present - collude with them and do nothing about environmental destruction (huge in mining) or human rights violations, mining corporations from other countries register as Canadian while working in developing countries.

The setup is the usual, a corrupt government 'approves' a mine project that will destroy a watershed that local people - usually Indigenous people - rely on to keep them alive, so they oppose the mine and protest its presence. Mining companies hire private 'security' who have been implicated in many human rights violations themselves, or in collusion with armed forces of the country.

Recently, a massacre of 70 Congolese locals, using some of the mining company's vehicles and firearms. In Peru, 8 locals were killed by mine security. In Ecuador and elsewhere intimidation of protesters is common strategy, including death threats.

These companies are all listed on the TSX which, unlike banks, has no human rights or environmental standards.

What Next for Corporate Accountability in Mining?

On October 27, 2010, the Canadian Parliament voted down Bill C-300, the "Responsible Mining Act". In the absence of any meaningful government measures to make Canadian mining companies responsible for their actions, the victims have taken to the courts.

On November 8, 2010, an association representing Congolese citizens filed a class action against Anvil Mining Limited in a Montreal court alleging that by providing logistical assistance the company was involved in human rights abuses, including the massacre by the Congolese military of more than 70 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in October 2004.

On November 25, 2010, the Ontario Court of Appeal heard the appeal of the Ontario court's dismissal of three Ecuadorian villagers' suit against Copper Mesa Mining Corporation and the Toronto Stock Exchange over physical assaults, death threats and various human rights violations against local community members carried out by the mining company's agents, in turn funded by the TSX.

On December 1, 2010, a lawsuit was filed against HudBay Minerals for the death of indigenous Mayan Q'eqchi' community leader Adolfo Ich Chaman at the hands of the company's security forces in Guatemala on September 9, 2009

Mining is a troublesome industry in Canada too, destroying the land and lakes and rivers that provide livlihood for First Nations communities.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchenuhmaykoosib_Inninuwug_First_Nation

In 2008, six leaders of the community (Chief Donny Morris, Jack McKay, Sam McKay, Darryl Sainnawap Cecilia Begg and Bruce Sakakeep) were imprisoned for protesting development on their traditional land by Platinex Inc..

Ya we know it makes jobs and wealth but ... would you want one near your Muskoka Lake? Or clearcutting? Oil extraction?

Wouldn't you protest too?

What would you do in the position of the local people?

What would you do in government?

Canada is heavily dependent on very destructive industries, and a mecca for some unethical operators.

What should the TSX do?

Why doesn't it have any standards?

The environment is OUR environment that people need to survive.

Shouldn't the TSX show some respect for that?

And shouldn't Canadians be concerned that Canadian corporations are giving us a bad name around the world?

We talk about the US propping up and colluding with oppressive governments to extract oil ... but Canada does it too.

[cybercoma]

Those are 'scandals' only to some. They aren't really scandals at all, for the most part.

The thread's not about scandals, it's about predatory practices and corruption. Those are some select "scandals" that have come up that I believe show that there has been corruption as recently as this year. That's in response to saying there has been no corruption for more than a decade.

[Smallc]

That's in response to saying there has been no corruption for more than a decade.

I didn't say there hadn't been any corruption, but on a global or even a western scale, there's been very little.

[cybercoma]

Splitting hairs, no? We're the greatest country in the world. We consider ourselves the bastion of democracy and peace-keeping. There shouldn't be any corruption and if there is it should be combatted to the fullest extent of the law.

[bush_cheney2004]

Splitting hairs, no? We're the greatest country in the world. We consider ourselves the bastion of democracy and peace-keeping. There shouldn't be any corruption and if there is it should be combatted to the fullest extent of the law.

If only that were true....considering Canada to be these things does not necessarily make it so.

Of course there is corruption in Canada....lots.

[cybercoma]

Like clockwork, bush chimes in. The forum has been much better since I added him as the first and only addition to my ignore list. It's not like I really need to read his post to know that it's probably just more American nationalist trolling.

[bush_cheney2004]

Like clockwork, bush chimes in. The forum has been much better since I added him as the first and only addition to my ignore list. It's not like I really need to read his post to know that it's probably just more American nationalist trolling.

....a fine match for your "Canadian nationalist trolling". I know America's faults and embrace them, but you pretend Canada has few or none. Trying to shut me up won't change that.

[Smallc]

Splitting hairs, no? We're the greatest country in the world. We consider ourselves the bastion of democracy and peace-keeping. There shouldn't be any corruption and if there is it should be combatted to the fullest extent of the law.

No, it isn't splitting hairs, and I agree, we could do with more rules on this on the private side (although I'm not convinced that more rules always form an answer). That said, there will always be some level of corruption with any system that involves humans.

[jacee]

I didn't say there hadn't been any corruption, but on a global or even a western scale, there's been very little.

... very little ... that became public, perhaps?

[Smallc]

... very little ... that became public, perhaps?

Are you kidding? The Canadian media is like a rabid dog when it comes to government scandal, real or manufactured.

[cybercoma]

No, it isn't splitting hairs, and I agree, we could do with more rules on this on the private side (although I'm not convinced that more rules always form an answer). That said, there will always be some level of corruption with any system that involves humans.

I thought from the OP we have the rules. They're just not applied.

[Smallc]

I thought from the OP we have the rules. They're just not applied.

Sorry, I didn't read the story this time, because I saw a similar story about a month ago. You're probably right.

[jacee]

Splitting hairs, no? We're the greatest country in the world. We consider ourselves the bastion of democracy and peace-keeping.

I think that's an unfortunate case of us believing in our our PR propaganda.

We are NOT seen that way by people in the countries where our extraction industries operate.

Canada has been criticized by the UN for decades for relying so heavily on destructive extraction industries.

In our own country, the extraction industries have devastated MANY Indigenous communities.

In Eastern Ontario, uranium mining finally affected wealthy (Ottawa) retirees, who got a taste of the government's intractable persistence in supporting that horrifically destructive industry, when prospectors conducted drilling for samples on their property, clearcutting trails without their permission or knowledge and leaving behind radioactive waste.

http://www.ccamu.ca/history.htm

They went to First Nations people for help.

There are MANY such examples of predatory practices in Canada, and now around the world.

Indigenous people everywhere are passionately opposed to Canada's extraction industries and the ruthless 'private security' forces they employ to harass, intimidate and sometimes murder protesters (eg, Peru).

My point in posting this topic is to raise awareness that Canada is NOT seen as 'nice' in many parts of the world, and many parts of the country, because our governments not only look the other way from human rights violations re extraction industries, but also actively prevent legislation and oversight (eg, TSX) that would constrain the industries, and also provide billion$ in subsidies to these industries, out of our pockets.

http://www.miningwatch.ca/news/suppressed-report-confirms-international-violations-canadian-mining-companies

Oct 18, 2010(Ottawa) A report obtained by MiningWatch Canada reveals that Canadian mining companies are implicated in four times as many violations of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as mining companies from other countries. The report was commissioned by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) in 2009 but was never released to the public.

[jacee]

If only that were true....considering Canada to be these things does not necessarily make it so.

Of course there is corruption in Canada....lots.

Do tell bc ...

An outsider perspective IS valuable here. Please share any info you can.

And ... I would like to know whether the stock exchange in the US has any standards/legal requirements of mining companies, etc, re human rights and environmental violations applied to determine whether a company can be listed.

Thx.

Edited October 20, 2011 by jacee

[cybercoma]

I think that's an unfortunate case of us believing in our our PR propaganda.

I was being facetious. What I was implying is that Canadians see themselves that way, ignoring the reality of the amount of corruption and predatory practices that go on here and by us around the world. If we're going to see ourselves in those terms, we ought to start acting like it, instead of saying at least we're better than the most corrupt countries in the world.

[bush_cheney2004]

And ... I would like to know whether the stock exchange in the US has any standards/legal requirements of mining companies, etc, re human rights and environmental violations applied to determine whether a company can be listed.

No, there are none aimed at curbing such practices by mining companies. There are plenty of fiduciary and SEC rules regarding publicly traded equities and disclosure, but the only insight to be found is probably liability from pending litigation and fines impact on the bottom line. Note that such companies do spend money on a green PR campaign because that is very trendy right now.

I think some Canadians got a wake up call when it was disclosed that Myanmar's military junta had a cushy deal with Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto. Canadian companies are a major player in mining around the world.

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11098

[jacee]

I thought from the OP we have the rules. They're just not applied.

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/oecd-slams-canadas-lack-of-prosecution-of-bribery-offences/article1959569/?service=mobile

I think it's both - ie, we have weak laws enforced weakly.

From what I've gleaned from links posted ... Canada's laws relevant to operations outside the country require very explicit connections of illegal events to company leadership HERE in Canada - ie proof of planning the events HERE before conviction can occur.

That's what happened in the case of the Ecuadorian case posted: The courts could not convict the company directors because there wasn't evidence of planning HERE in Canada.

It's a loophole, and the legislation that would have closed that loophole was defeated in parliament a year ago.

From above link:

In Canada, the question is: Was the plot formed or hatched here? Some component has to be based here,” explained Mark Morrison, a partner with Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP who specializes in anti- corruption compliance. “That makes it much more difficult to prosecute.” By contrast, the U.S. prosecutes its citizens accused of bribery abroad even if there is little or no geographic connection to their home country and the U.K. is planning changes to its laws to do ikewise.

The law protects the companies from prosecution. Also there is the issue of the RCMP anti-corruption unit with few resources to pursue these complex crimes, whose officers are frequently 'reassigned' to other duties.

In that regard, I will say that the RCMP functions much more as a 'tool of the government' than our provincial and local police forces: Their oath is to "obey lawful orders" - ie, protect the 'state', while the (eg) OPP and Toronto Police Services' oath is to "uphold the Constitution" - ie, individual rights. The RCMP are much more subject to political interference than other police forces. I would guess some/all of those "reassignments" are politically motivated. I can read that between the lines of what the RCMP said in relation to the anti-corruption unit: The anti-corruption unit is being corruptly disempowered, imo.

AND the TSX has no standards for the companies it lists.

Also ... companies claim they don't pay "bribes", they are "extorted" with threats of violence by locals: ie, if they pay the official the money,. The government will (violently in many cases) suppress the protests of local people.

I'm not sure what the distinction is, but the fact remains that companies that are willing to do business where local protesters are violently subdued by the state, are likely to register as Canadian companies because we let them get away with it.

Edited October 20, 2011 by jacee