e-2820 Foreign affairs
Heather McPherson
Canadian companies,Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible En ...,Civil and human rights,Foreign policy,Philippines,Social responsibility
December 30, 2020, at 12:03 p.m. (EDT)
Petition to the House of Commons
  Whereas:
  
    Canadian corporation OceanaGold has operated a mine in Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines since 2013;
    The people of Didipio, supported by their municipal and provincial governments, oppose the renewal of OceanaGold’s mining permit, which expired on June 20, 2019;
    On April 6, 2020, some 100 Philippine National Police violently dispersed some 29 primarily indigenous Ifugao residents maintaining Didipio’s peaceful People’s Barricade that is authorized by municipal and provincial governments and started on July 1, 2019;
    The Philippine National Police escorted three fuel trucks into the mine site using excessive force to break up the human barricade;
    Rolando Pulido was beaten and arrested, and others were wounded; and
    On April 7, 2020, Armed Forces of the Philippines Lt. Gen Antonio Parlade, Jr. issued a public statement “red-tagging” several environmental and disaster response organizations, including those supporting Didipio residents.
  
  
    We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to:
    1. Strengthen rules for Canadian businesses operating overseas and uphold human rights;
    2. Make the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise independent and empowered to compel evidence and witness testimony under oath;
    3. Enact a human rights due diligence law that compels businesses to respect international human rights;
    4. Hold hearings on the human rights situation in the Philippines in the parliamentary human rights sub-committee during the current session of Parliament;
    5. End Canadian support to the Government of the Philippines, including socio-economic and financial programming, tactical, logistical and training support, military sales and defence cooperation; and
    6. Mandate Canadian consular personnel to protect human rights defenders.