Corporations are increasingly recognizing the link between good business and respecting human rights. This is reflected in the more than 12,000 corporate participants and other stakeholders from over 145 countries in the UN Global Compact, the largest voluntary corporate responsibility initiative in the world. The Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative spearheaded at the United Nations for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption.

By Emily Sanders

Taseko Mines, the Canadian mining company who has made two failed attempts to launch a gold and copper mine in Tsilhqot’in First Nation Territory in British Colombia, has been granted an extension of an environmental assessment certificate to build an open-pit mine capable of producing 70,000 tons of ore per day over 20 years.

By Susan G. Enberg

By Emily Sanders

Despite the reputation held by Canada for its comparatively respectful human rights practices, the country’s recent actions in Indigenous territories both at home and abroad has caused Vancouver businesses to gain notoriety in Latin America as the worst in the extractive industry. Both in terms of environmental degradation and human rights violations, the Canadian government has failed to prevent the corrupt behaviors of its extractive industries —the result of lacking policy standards and enforcement on the part of the Canadian government.

On October 12th, Tsilhqot’in People gathered at Fish Lake in British Colombia to inaugurate a totem pole at a new conservation area covering 800,000 acres to be managed by the Tsilhqot’in First Nation of Canada. The park, whose official name is Dasiqox Tribal Park, is known as ‘Nexwagwez?an’ , meaning “it is there for us” in the Tsilhoqot’in language.

On October 4th, the Tsilhqot’in First Nation of British Columbia will hold a totem pole-raising ceremony to inaugurate 3,000 square kilometers of land as a tribal park, just a few months after a historic Supreme Court decision granted them title to 1,750 square kilometers of disputed land.

24 September 2014
PUBLIC STATEMENT

In a decision delivered on Thursday, June 26, 2014, Canada’s Supreme Court has granted aboriginal title to the Tsilhqot’in Nation of British Colombia for 1,700 square kilometers of land that they can prove they have traditionally occupied or used for hunting, fishing, or spiritual ceremonies.

By Jenna Winton