17.02.2026 Blog Entry Ten Years After the Worst Spill in Argentina’s History, Communities Express Concern about Fish Deaths near Barrick's Veladero Mine Local officials and the Canadian company say no spill occurred. However, affected communities worry about health impacts as no conclusive cause for the dead fish downstream of the Veladero mine has yet been identified.

11.02.2026 Guest Publication Brief on Québec's Bill 5 aimed at fast-tracking priority projects and projects of national importance The purpose of this brief is to present an analysis of the proposed Bill to accelerate authorizations required for the completion of priority and national-scale projects (PL5). The brief was produced by Eau Secours, with the support of the Coalition Québec meilleure mine (QMM) and Sept-Îles Sans Uranium (SISUR), and aims to convey our comments and positions regarding the proposed... Read more

10.02.2026 MiningWatch in the News Vancouver mining company confirms deaths of employees abducted from Mexico operation Three of 10 employees abducted from Vancouver-headquartered Vizsla Silver Corp.'s mine project in region with rampant cartel violence have been confirmed dead, according to Mexican officials By Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun Mexican authorities have confirmed that three of 10 employees of a Vancouver-headquartered mining company who were kidnapped from a mining project in the western state of Sinaloa at the...

10.02.2026 MiningWatch in the News Energy Transition Mining Causes Forest Loss, but Land Rights Make a Difference Chris Bonasia - The Energy Mix Mining for energy transition minerals drives deforestation at a scale comparable to mining for coal and other minerals, a new study shows. But the severity of impacts is affected by the strength of land ownership rights. Areas that have stronger rights protections end up with lower rates of deforestation, an insight for Canadian provincial...

04.02.2026 Blog Entry Indigenous and campesino communities in Cuenca, Ecuador tell the Canadian embassy: NO Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ecuador, and NO to Canadian mining This week, the Canadian ambassador to Ecuador, Craig Kowalik, invited the Federation of Indigenous and Peasant Organizations of Azuay (FOA) and other community representatives from the páramo de Kimsakocha for a meeting to gain firsthand knowledge of their local reality, their priorities, and their relationship with Canada. For over 30 years , the FOA and other indigenous and rural communities...

03.02.2026 MiningWatch in the News BC Halts Plans to Make Polluters Pay for Cleanup Costs The province billed its Public Interest Bonding Strategy as a key step to protect the public from massive cleanup bills. Now it’s on hold. by Zoë Yunker B.C. has halted work on a strategy aimed at ensuring taxpayers don’t bear the massive cleanup costs arising from abandoned industrial sites and disasters like the Mount Polley mine breach. The province initiated...

03.02.2026 MiningWatch in the News Ontario government recycles oil sands propaganda for Ring of Fire mining development Ford’s ministers call minerals ‘the most ethical on Earth,’ while passing legislation that suspends treaty rights, species protections, and human rights to benefit extractive industries by Jon Thompson Ontario cabinet members are calling the minerals in the proposed Ring of Fire development “the most ethical resources on Earth.” A December statement attributed the phrase to energy and mines minister Stephen...

02.02.2026 Brief UN Brief: Report on the Violation of the Rights to Indigenous Self-Determination and Democratic Participation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada Due to “Fast-Tracking” Legislation for Major Projects This Shadow Report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee with Respect to the Seventh Periodic Report of Canada was developed by the Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinic, a public interest legal clinic and experiential education initiative housed at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, and co-submitted with MiningWatch Canada and Legal Advocates for Nature's Defence (LAND). Read more

02.02.2026 Brief UN Brief: Canada fails to protect human rights abused by Canadian mining companies operating overseas and fails to provide effective remedy in Canada for those whose rights have been violated by Canadian mining companies operating abroad MiningWatch Canada submission in advance of consideration of the seventh Periodic Review of Canada by the UN Human Rights Committee, 145th session, March 2026 Read more

05.02.2026 Brief Brief: Bill 11 amending various provisions primarily for the purpose of reducing regulatory and administrative burdens This brief, prepared jointly by the Coalition Québec meilleure mine, MiningWatch Canada and Eau Secours, provides a critical analysis of Québec's "Bill 11 amending various provisions primarily for the purpose of reducing regulatory and administrative burdens." Read more

22.01.2026 MiningWatch in the News Canada’s Mining Firms Are Big Beneficiaries of the Global Order Its Prime Minister Just Criticized Katie Surma, Inside Climate News As Mark Carney urges value-based leadership, critics point to trade rules championed by Canada that undermine those ideals. When Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a pointed rebuke this week of Donald Trump and the global economic system Washington helped shape, he urged other nations to help build a new world order—one that, he said...

16.01.2026 MiningWatch in the News 'We're protectors:' Indigenous groups call for mining safeguards Lindsay Kelly, Northern Ontario Business Speakers share global perspectives on Indigenous rights in the mining industry. Too many of the people in Treaty 9 territory are living without basic necessities like potable water, proper health care, or even a comfortable place to live. And now, with the development of the Ring of Fire on the horizon, Michel J. Koostachin worries...

16.01.2026 MiningWatch in the News Poor Ore, Outdated Approvals: New Brunswick's Sisson Mine Draws Scrutiny on Major Projects List Joan Baxter, The Energy Mix The long-stalled Sisson tungsten-molybdenum mine in central New Brunswick is back in the spotlight after Prime Minister Mark Carney added it to his second tranche of “nation-building” projects. Critics cite low-grade ore, Indigenous opposition, and U.S. Defense Department funding alongside C$8.2M from Canada, warning taxpayer dollars are fueling weapons, not the energy transition. “The business...

07.01.2026 Blog Entry Interrogating “critical minerals” event series Above Ground and MiningWatch Canada are co-organizing an event series unpacking various issues surrounding so-called “critical minerals”. The growing global focus on prioritizing the exploration and extraction of minerals deemed of critical importance to economic security, defence and an energy transition comes with many questions about human rights – including Indigenous rights and labour rights –, environmental justice, and corporate...

05.01.2026 MiningWatch in the News How the renewed push for critical minerals puts Canadian waters at risk By Danielle Beurteaux The Bloom Lake iron mine is expanding. The Quebec mine, which started in 2018, has plans to more than double annual production next year. The estimated 572 million cubic metres (more than nine million shipping containers) of tailings waste created by this mine will end up in eight lakes and 37 rivers, where it will remain forever...