Once a year, the board of Directors of the world's most powerful gold
mining corporation converge in downtown Toronto. Join us and
representatives from mining-impacted communities to... CONFRONT BARRICK
GOLD!
WHAT: Shareholders meeting protest WHEN: May 2, 2012 10:30am WHERE: Metro Convention Centre 255 Front St, Toronto
WHY PROTEST BARRICK? In countries like Australia, Chile, Papua
New Guinea and Tanzania, Barrick takes advantage of inadequate and
poorly enforced regulatory controls to rob indigenous people of their
lands, destroy sensitive ecosystems and agricultural land, support
brutal police and security operations, and sue anyone who tries to
report on it. In the context of this libel chill, Barrick has branded
itself as the socially responsible mining giant and boasts its listing
on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Behind the scenes,
Barrick has been singled out as the company most involved in the
lobbying effort to stop private member�s bill C-300. This bill would
have withdrawn government funding and diplomatic support for companies
found � after an investigation � to be abusing human rights or violating
international environmental norms. In October 2010, bill C-300 lost by a
mere 6 votes.
Now, Barrick uses its influence with government to direct
millions of international aid dollars to fund projects next to a their
mines. Closer to home, Barrick's Peter Munk pledged to
contribute $35 million to the University of Toronto for the
establishment of the Munk School of Global Affairs. The donation
contract � which was negotiated and approved in secret � provides Munk
with influence over the school's curriculum and spells out the
conditions under which the School will house the Canadian International
Council (CIC), a right-wing think tank. |