The Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP), a legal aid group based at Osgoode Hall Law School, released this week a report entitled “The Canada Brand” which concludes that violence is generalized and widespread in the activities of Canadian mining projects in Latin America. The report discusses incidents (can we say “violations” instead?) that occurred in thirteen countries from 2000 to 2015. The authors highlighted that these incidents are only a small sample of the violence that happens in Canadian-owned mines around the world.

The report found that during the period studied, at least 44 people have been killed in relation to Canadian mining projects, and 30 of those were “targeted” killings. At least 403 people were injured (in addition to workplace injuries). More than 700 people were “criminalized”, including being arrested and detained. Only 24.2% of the deaths and 12.3% of the injuries associated with their operations appear in the formal filings of the involved corporations.

Canadian companies dominate the mining sector in Latin America, and Canada is the main country to offer financial support for mining projects. The JCAP report exposes that Canadian laws and policies are ineffective in holding mining companies  accountable for violent incidents.