Canadian Mining Companies in Latin America: Community Rights and Corporate Responsibility
The 1990s witnessed an enormous expansion in the activities of Canadian mining companies throughout Central and South America, bringing profound socio-economic change and conflict to numerous rural communities. This conference addressed the tension between community rights and corporate social responsibility in the context of Canadian mining investment in Latin America, providing an alternative forum to the mining industry conference organized for the same week in Toronto.
Three main themes characterized the discussion: the role of the state in organizing mineral extraction; the tension between the developmental priorities of workers and communities on the one hand and mining investors on the other; and the means by which civil society actors throughout the Americas might assert greater influence over decisions relating to regional mining investment.