How Canada’s growing presence in Latin America is hurting the environment
Maxwell Radwin reports for Mongabay that Canada has become a major force in Latin America, where it’s spent the last 30 years beefing up its portfolio with investments in mining, oil and natural gas.
In a nutshell:
Canada's significant presence in Latin America has fostered economic growth in the region. However, this expansion has come at a cost, with lax regulations and oversight leading to deforestation, pollution and human rights violations, particularly affecting protected areas and Indigenous communities. Advocacy groups have raised concerns ahead of Canada's U.N. review, reports Radwin, emphasizing the need for accountability of Canadian companies operating in Latin America. Over half of mining activity in the region is tied to Canadian entities, attracted by financial incentives, including a 15% tax credit for overseas extractive activities. The call is for Canada to enforce environmental and human rights standards, but critics argue that tracking the impact remains challenging.
Key quote:
“Despite Canada’s ‘climate forward’ public image, it acts as a safe haven for extractive industries and companies operating in Latin America, including regions of climatic significance,” Amazon Watch said in a statement.
The big picture:
Canada's natural gas and oil drilling activities in Latin America have raised concerns about health and environmental repercussions. In Peru, oil block 192 experienced over 105 spills between 2015 and 2021, with inadequate response to their impact on the surrounding forest ecosystem. In Putumayo, Colombia, oil extraction infrastructure construction on vital wetlands for the Indigenous Inga people's traditional medicines has caused environmental disruption. These incidents underscore the need for stringent oversight to mitigate the adverse effects on local communities and fragile ecosystems in the region.
Read the article at Mongabay.
This trend is not new: In 2017, Brian Bienkowski noted that a 2016 study tied 28 Canadian mining companiesworking in Latin America between 2000 and 2015 to 44 deaths, 403 injuries and 709 cases of "criminalization".
