OPSEU meets with Canadian ambassador

Meeting with Canadian Ambassador to Colombia

On Tuesday September 1 we met with Geneviève des Rivières, the Canadian ambassador to Colombia in her office in Bogota. Based on the experience of the delegation in Colombia and OPSEU’s previous stand on issues like the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Sister Jen Giroux presented the ambassador with a letter from President Smokey Thomas. The letter outlines the key concerns of OPSEU: our opposition to the Canada Colombia Free Trade Agreement; our condemnation of the human rights atrocities being committed against trade unionists and human rights activists; our call for the passing of Bill C300 regarding corporate social responsibility on the part of Canadian corporations; guarantees for safety for those opposing the regime, including providing refuge in Canada for many whose lives have been threatened; and our stand against the rush to privatize health care in Colombia.

The ambassador took pains to praise the Canadian mining corporations in Colombia for their corporate social responsibility and their adherence to prior consultation with communities before any concessions are awarded.

She also defended the case for a Canada Colombia Free Trade Agreement and pointed to the example of Peru as the first time ever that Canada has been able to negotiate two side agreements – one on Labour and one on the Environment. “Canada is a leader rather than a follower” she said and went on to talk about how our government cannot just be subservient to a sovereign government like Colombia. We can, through avenues like free trade agreements monitor the government’s activities, build a closer relationship through dialogue and influence their public policies more effectively than we could otherwise. “We see it as an opportunity to have privileged access because Canada is such a highly respected country”, she said.

We pointed out that Canadian corporations, far from being the social citizens she portrayed, had actually been instrumental in redesigning the mining laws to incorporate less stringent laws for their operations in Colombia. The ambassador asked us for more information on this issue and we will provide her with the details.

When Ms. des Rivières began once again to talk about how socially responsible they were being in Colombia, and how the Canadian mining corporations were there to create employment which is sustainable beyond the life of the mine, our delegation repeated what the indigenous leaders in each community had told us. They were not interested in that kind of employment; they wanted to stay on their land and provide for their communities as they had always been able to do. Brother Yhony Muñoz outlined how he had worked alongside the Embera Katio whose lands and fishing grounds had been destroyed by a hydro – electric project funded by Export Development Corporation (Canada). Then their leader, Kimi Pernia was “disappeared” by paramilitaries and later it was confirmed that he had been killed.

The ambassador reiterated that she still believed that Canada would have more capacity to monitor the activities of Canadian companies by engaging with the Colombian government. Our meeting had to end as the ambassador was late for her next meeting. We thanked her and left, not surprised by her response but at the same time frustrated by the complete lack of empathy for the suffering and devastation at the hands of the Colombian regime we had witnessed in this country.