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Articles by Catherine Coumans
Free Palestine Melbourne - a member's journey for Palestine I Dissecting the Federal Budget I Part 1: Profile of Caribbean Island - Dominica
His week that was - Kevin Healy Part 1 of an interview with activist for Palestine Michael Shaik beginning in a small village in the West Bank and concluding in an Israeli prison. Interview from my archive featuring Catherine Coumans, from Mining Watch Canada, speaking about the environmental and human rights abuses perpetrated by the Australian mining company Oceana Gold in Didipio, Philippines.
La Asamblea General Anual virtual de Barrick limita la participación efectiva de las comunidades afectadas
Hoy, MiningWatch Canadá asistió a la Asamblea General Anual virtual de Barrick Mining. Catherine Coumans, de MiningWatch, asistió en calidad de representante de accionistas. Ella presentó con antelación las cuatro preguntas incluídas a continuación, mucho antes de que el director ejecutivo, Mark Hill, abriera el espacio para preguntas.
Barrick's Virtual AGM Curtails Meaningful Engagement with Stakeholders
Today, MiningWatch Canada attended Barrick Mining’s virtual Annual General Meeting. MiningWatch’s Catherine Coumans attended as a proxy holder. She input the four questions below well before the request for questions was made by CEO Mark Hill. When it came time for someone appointed by Barrick to read out the questions, that person only read out MiningWatch’s questions related to the Veladero Mine in Argentina – without the short contextual section.
Letter to Development Banks: Civil Society Organizations Express Concern over Human Rights Risks at Reko Diq mine
Last April 2, 2026, Barrick Mining Corporation disclosed that they are slowing down activity and reviewing security risks around the Reko Diq project in Balochistan, Pakistan until mid-2027. While this development is crucial given the ongoing war in West Asia, the Reko Diq project has been exacerbating risks for human rights defenders, fueling conflict and insecurity, and leading to environmental and social destruction in Balochistan.
Letter to Prime Minister Carney: Canadian Organizations Urge Decisive Action on Unilateral Deep-sea Mining
Photo credit: ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute, CC BY-NC-SA The following letter was sent to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Joanne Thompson, Minister of Natural Resources Tim Hodgson, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity Marc Miller, and Secretary of State (Nature) Natalie Provost by a group of concerned environmental...
Several Canadian organizations urge decisive action on unilateral deep-sea mining
Photo credit: ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute, CC BY-NC-SA The following letter was sent to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Joanne Thompson, Minister of Natural Resources Tim Hodgson, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity Marc Miller, and Secretary of State (Nature) Natalie Provost by a group of concerned environmental...
Letter to Prime Minister Carney: Several Canadian organizations urge decisive action on unilateral deep-sea mining
Photo credit: ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute, CC BY-NC-SA The following letter was sent to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Joanne Thompson, Minister of Natural Resources Tim Hodgson, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity Marc Miller, and Secretary of State (Nature) Natalie Provost by a group of concerned environmental...
Don’t Neglect Your CORE: Canada’s Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise
On Wednesday, April 15, Catherine Coumans, MiningWatch Canada's Research Coordinator, presented on behalf of the Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability to the All Party Parliamentary group on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. In her presentation, Catherine raised serious concerns regarding the status of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) which has been without an ombudsperson since May 2025, leaving complainants in limbo.
Marinduqueños Commemorate Mining Disasters - Celebrate $100 Million Legal Victory over Canadian Mining Company
Yesterday, people from the small Philippine Island of Marinduque came together to commemorate the mining disaster of March 24, 1996, that filled their Boac River with mine waste from the mountains, where the Marcopper Mine was located, to the sea. The mine was closed after the disaster and remains so. A year after the Boac spill, the Canadian company associated with the disaster, Placer Dome, reported that it had divested from the mine.
Marinduquenos commemorate mining disasters - celebrate 100 million dollar legal victory over Canadian mining company
Yesterday people from the small Philippine Island of Marinduque came together to commemorate the mining disaster of March 24, 1996 that filled their Boac River with mine waste from the mountains, where the Marcopper Mine was located, to the sea. The mine was closed after the disaster and remains so. A year after the Boac spill, the Canadian company associated with the disaster, Placer Dome, reported that it had divested from the mine.
Thirty years of struggle for justice: A small Philippine Island marks the anniversary of a mining disaster caused by a Canadian company
Thirty years ago today, on the Philippine Island of Marinduque, people woke up to the largest mining disaster in Philippine history unfolding outside their homes. A major river on the island was filling up with mine waste from the mountains to the sea after a mine waste containment structure at the Marcopper Mine failed. Five villages and some 4,400 villagers were immediately cut off by the mine waste and had to be serviced and evacuated by helicopter.
Letter to the Minister of International Trade: Canada’s commitment to a strong Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE)
The following letter was sent to Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, by MiningWatch Canada. RE: Canada’s commitment to a strong Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) Dear Minister Sidhu, As the Government of Canada considers its priorities and budget we are writing to remind you of the commitment made to Canadians by then trade minister François-Philippe Champagne when he announced the creation of the CORE in 2018.
Letter to Prime Minister Carney: Canada's Position on Deep Sea Mining
The following letter was sent to Prime Minister Marc Carney by 20 Canadian and international civil society organizations, coalitions, and unions, including MiningWatch Canada. The Right Honourable Mark Carney, P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A2 RE: CANADA’S POSITION ON DEEP SEA MINING We are Canadian, Indigenous, and international organizations who advocate for ocean protection.
The Metals Company Goes Rogue in Desperate Move to Monetize the Deep Seabed Original
Background Vancouver based The Metals Company (TMC) holds concessions for exploration of polymetallic nodules in the Clarion Clipperton Zone, in Pacific international waters, granted to it through the International Seabed Authority (ISA) because of its partnerships with the Pacific Island country of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga. TMC’s local subsidiaries are called NORI (Nauru Ocean Resources Incorporated) and TOML (Tonga Offshore Mining Limited).
Update on Barrick's Days in Court in Canada Original
In 2022, [1] and again in 2024, [2] Indigenous Kuria from villages surrounding North Mara Gold Mine in Tanzania filed cases in Canada against Barrick Gold Corporation [3] (Barrick) for alleged “acts of extreme violence committed by Mine Police in the service of Barrick in and around the North Mara Mine.” [4] The 29 plaintiffs include victims and their family members who allege that police, paid under Memorandums of Understanding with the mine to provide additional security to the mine area,...
NGOs Express Concern over Canada’s Engagement at the International Seabed Authority
MiningWatch Canada is a signatory to the following letter sent to the Government of Canada on May 28, 2024 expressing concern over Canada's engagement at a recent International Seabed Authority meeting where regulations to advance deep sea mining are being negotiated. Among other requests, the letter calls on Canada to attend upcoming ISA meetings in July with a renewed mandate that prioritizes good governance, Indigenous participation, and upholds commitments to ocean protection.
Forced Evictions at Barrick's North Mara Gold Mine: MiningWatch Canada report details gross violations of human rights in Tanzania
OTTAWA, ON, Dec. 12, 2023 (CNW Group via COMTEX) -- Today MiningWatch Canada releases a report describing gross violations of human rights at Barrick Gold's North Mara Gold Mine in Tanzania. Thousands of Indigenous Kuria near the mine have been forcibly evicted from their lands to make room for the mine's expansion. Most people were evicted in December 2022, with the remaining families losing their homes and lands in August and September of 2023.
Letter to Minister Joly: Canada Must Join the Call for a Moratorium on Deep Sea Mining
Honourable Minister Mélanie Joly House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0A6 Via email: [email protected] Honourable Minister Joly, RE: Canada’s delegation to the International Seabed Authority must be mandated to join the leadership countries calling for a moratorium or ban on deep seabed mining. We are member organizations of a Canadian coalition of NGOs committed to protecting marine biodiversity nationally and internationally.
Communities Call for Respect, Barrick Responds with Aggression
Coauthors: Jan Morrill, Earthworks and Catherine Coumans, MiningWatch Canada From Alaska to Papua New Guinea, communities were paying close attention to Barrick Gold’s annual shareholders meeting on May 2 in Toronto. The meeting came after seven communities affected by Barrick mines launched a Global Week of Action calling out the gap between Barrick’s supposed human rights commitments and its track record on the ground.
Sangihe Islanders Win Another Important Legal Victory Against Canada’s Baru Gold’s Plans to Mine on the Small Island
The struggle to protect the small 736 square-kilometre Island of Sangihe from industrial gold mining by Canada’s Baru Gold Corp. (Baru) continues to play out through public demonstrations of opposition to the project by Sangihe islanders and the Save Sangihe Island Association (SSI), both on the island and in the capital Jakarta, but also through the courts.
Letter to Barrick Gold: Ongoing Concerns About Forced Evictions
Mark Bristow, President and CEO, Barrick Gold Corp. Via e-mail: [email protected] February 24, 2023 Mr Bristow: Re: Response to your letter of February 14, 2023 We appreciate that you express concern regarding the information we have provided you in our letter of January 27, 2023, about the forced evictions ongoing in Komarera village. We have posted your February 14, 2023 response on our site.
Letter to Barrick Gold: Forced evictions and related human rights abuses ongoing at North Mara Gold Mine
Mark Bristow, President and CEO, Barrick Gold Corp.
Can the planet support a clean energy transition?
Combating climate change will require rapidly deploying renewable energy while reducing our use of fossil fuels. But renewable energy technologies like wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles require large amounts of mined metals and minerals. That poses a problem, because the mining process creates significant environmental impacts, from air and water pollution to deforestation, and has led to numerous conflicts with local communities.
Into the deep: science, politics and law in conflicts over marine dumping of mine waste
Abstract National and international deliberations about whether the global mining industry should be permitted to use the earth's seas as mine waste dumps are not decided on the basis of independent scientific data from past or existing sites. Nor is a critical lack of scientific knowledge about the deep sea environment and about the long‐term consequences of marine dumping triggering the precautionary principle for proposed projects.
Time for Duterte to shut down OceanaGold
Ten violations that should prompt its removal Largely out of sight in the rugged mountains of Nueva Vizcaya, Australian-Canadian company OceanaGold has been making millions mining gold and copper, while local people and the environment suffer. The company has repeatedly violated President Duterte’s calls for responsible mining. OceanaGold has not adhered to its commitments under its mining permit and various Philippine laws and regulations.
[ANALYSIS] Time for Duterte to shut down this mining company
Largely out of sight in the rugged mountains of Nueva Vizcaya, Australian-Canadian company OceanaGold has been making millions mining gold and copper, while local people and the environment suffer. The company has repeatedly violated President Duterte’s calls for responsible mining. OceanaGold has not adhered to its commitments under its mining permit and various Philippine laws and regulations. It is time to heed local calls to shut down this company’s operations.
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