[Sust-mar] [Fwd: [MWC-Newsletter] A special appeal from MiningWatch Canada - with attachments!]

[Paul Falvo]

RSVP and I will send you the attachment, which is a reply form to 
MiningWatch, which you can send with your donation.
(At 240K it is too large for this list).

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [MWC-Newsletter] A special appeal from MiningWatch Canada - 
with	attachments!
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:25:43 -0500
From: Jamie Kneen <jamie at miningwatch.ca>
To: newsletter at lists.miningwatch.ca

Dear Friends,

A note - and a plea - from MiningWatch Canada.

As a small organization with a big agenda, we
need to seek support from people we know are
concerned about the human rights and
environmental problems related to irresponsible
mining practices.

All donations are welcome and we ask that you
take a moment to look at the attached coupon to
see the options we have presented for supporting
our work - through a direct contribution to
MiningWatch Canada or via a donation to our
sister organization Canary Research Institute
(registered charity).

As a MiningWatch Canada donor, you would join us in the drive to:
* Put people and the environment ahead of
corporate profits gleaned from irresponsible
mining practices;
* Promote sustainable government policies and
procedures that protect human and indigenous
rights, our health and the longevity of our
natural resources; and
* Have Canada play a positive role in the world -
particularly the developing world - through
pro-poor government positions and ethical
business practices.

The activities of MiningWatch Canada have brought
exciting results. In the "Recent Highlights"
section below, we present a "sampling" - so
please read on.

Thank you for this opportunity to talk about MiningWatch Canada.

Warm Regards,
The Staff and Directors of MiningWatch Canada

Recent Highlights

* Federal Court Halts Red Chris Mine: MiningWatch
Canada Wins Precedent Setting Decision

MiningWatch, represented by lawyers from
Ecojustice, led a legal challenge to federal
government approval of the proposed Red Chris
Mine in northern British Columbia - and won.

On September 25 of this year, a Federal Court
decision upheld the fundamental right of
Canadians to be consulted during the
environmental assessment of large mines on the
comprehensive study list. Mr. Justice Martineau
condemned the federal Department of Fisheries and
Oceans (DFO) and Natural Resources Canada for
unlawfully evading a comprehensive environmental
assessment of the Red Chris Mine, and unlawfully
preventing the public from participating in the
federal assessment.

The proposed Red Chris mine would turn the
headwaters of three creeks in northwestern BC
into a tailings dump, destroying fish habitat and
risking contamination of the Stikine watershed.
The mine would have two huge open pits and leave
behind approximately 183 million tonnes of toxic
tailings and 307 million tonnes of waste rock,
which would likely need to be treated for acid
mine drainage for over 200 years.

The mine is located in the Klappan area of
Tahltan traditional territory and for a number of
years now, elders and other members of the Iskut
First Nation have been trying to prevent
development in this part of their traditional
territory known as the Sacred Headwaters, a
beautiful area at the headwaters of the Stikine,
Nass, and Skeena Rivers in northwestern British
Columbia.

The mining company has since appealed the court's
decision so the struggle continues.

* MiningWatch contributes to Panel decision on
the Kemess North Mine in BC to put local economic
and social concerns ahead of mining "development".

In September 2007, for the first time in the
history of Canadian Environmental Assessments, a
mining project was found to be "not in the public
interest" and was turned down. MiningWatch Canada
worked closely with the Aboriginal communities
affected by the Project to achieve this
remarkable result.

MiningWatch Canada's dogged persistence and
carefully researched submissions to the Panel
magnified the First Nations' voices and made the
Environmental Assessment a national concern.

The company has now announced that it will remove
the proposed project as "a core part of [its]
business plan" - so the panel's ruling is
expected to carry the day.

We were quoted! "The Panel has no choice but to
find that the Kemess North Mine project poses
serious environmental effects which cannot be
mitigated and that are not justified under the
circumstances."
- Joan Kuyek, quoted verbatim in the Panel's report, September 17, 2007

* Opposition to mining in developing countries gets a boost.

Our Ecuadorian partner, DECOIN, saw dramatic
progress in its work to protect the Intag region
in Northwest Ecuador - which encompasses two of
34 biological "hotspots" worldwide according to
Conservation International - against the effects
of a major copper mine proposed by Ascendant
Copper Corporation. In late September of this
year, the country's Minister of Mines and
Petroleum announced that the company was
prohibited from carrying out any and all mining
and community relations activities within its
Junín mining concession. The decision will also
affect the company's ability to undertake its
environmental impact study for exploration which
it has not resubmitted since being rejected in
December of 2006. Ascendant's presence and
activities have been deemed illegal in Cotacachi
County because it failed to get authorization
from the Municipality of Cotacachi before
starting operations in the area, as required by
article 11 of the nation's mining law.

The Minister also announced that all of the
country's concessions are under a judicial
review. It is widely held that most of Ecuador's
mining concessions are in violation of article 88
of the nation's Constitution, which protects the
affected communities' right to be consulted prior
to development activities being undertaken.

DECOIN has worked tirelessly to oppose this
operation both within its own country and in
Canada, the home of Ascendant Copper. MiningWatch
Canada helped make possible a visit to Canada
last spring by its spokesperson, Carlos Zorrilla,
and assisted him in setting up meetings with
parliamentarians, social justice organizations
and Ascendant shareholders and facilitated his
contact with the Ottawa Citizen, independent
media, and freelance journalists.

See attached a letter we wish to share with you
from Chief Dolly Abraham of the The Tse Keh Nay
First Nation.

--------------------------

Please note that we now invite you to become a
monthly sustaining donor via credit card
contributions - see attached coupon.

-- 
Jamie Kneen
Communications & Outreach Coordinator		ofc.  (613) 569-3439
MiningWatch Canada				cell: (613) 761-2273
250 City Centre Ave., Suite 508   		fax:  (613) 569-5138
Ottawa, Ontario  K1R 6K7  			e-mail: jamie at miningwatch.ca
Canada			      			http://www.miningwatch.ca
Skype: jamiekneen