The Price of Gold
A new scramble for Africa's natural resources
"It is a re-run of colonialism," says Abdulai, or "Dram", as his friends call him. He is speaking of the renewed scramble for Africa's natural resources, as countries throughout the continent are advised to liberalize their mining codes to attract more foreign investment in the mining sector. Such deregulation comes at a heavy cost in terms of human rights and environmental degradation.
In response to an alarming increase in reports of human rights and environmental violations by Canadian mining companies overseas, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade (SCFAIT) tabled a report in June 2005 on mining and human rights. The report included recommendations for policies to make companies more accountable for their activities internationally by ensuring that "Canadian companies have the necessary knowledge, support and incentives to conduct their activities in a socially and environmentally responsible manner and in conformity with international human rights standards."1 The report held much promise for the struggle for justice and corporate accountability.
The Canadian government's response to the report, however, was disappointing. It reiterated the government's faith in voluntary measures for good corporate conduct and it placed the burden of policing mining companies on the shoulders of the countries where mining occurs.2 In countries torn by internal conflict, host governments have few resources and little power to hold corporations accountable. Indeed, where the mining sector has fuelled or exacerbated the conflict, as in the Democratic Republic of Congo, host governments may not even have the political will to do so.
The Canadian government's response also fails to accept Canada's own responsibility in undermining the state structures that could have helped hold companies accountable. Research by the Groupe de recherche sur les activités minières en Afrique (GRAMA) shows that Canada has actively encouraged African countries to revise their mining codes, effectively driving down norms and standards critical to social and economic welfare and to the protection of the environment.3 The stakes are high for Canada; almost 60% of the world's exploration and mining companies are listed on Canadian stock markets, and over 600 mining concessions are operated by Canadian mining companies in Africa alone.
But having met the residents of Prestea whose lives have been torn apart by mining, it is difficult to agree with the Canadian government's response to the SCFAIT report.
1 Report by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade available online at: 
www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=1961949&Mode=1&Parl=38&Ses=1&Language=E
2 Government Response to the 14th report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, available online at: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Mode=1&Parl=38&Ses=1&DocId=2030362&File=0&Language=E
3 Cf: Regulating mining in Africa: for whose benefit? ( www.unites.uqam.ca/grama/pdf/Manuscrit-Eng-2004.pdf).
| Reviewed July 31, 2009 |  |
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