On October 31, Petroleum World reported, “Ecopetrol signaled it is prepared to spend big bucks on developing Colombia’s unconventional oil and gas reserves, reputed to be South America’s second-largest after Argentina’s.”

“[Ecopetrol CEO Felipe] Bayon said the company will spend $500 million on several in-country fracking pilot projects to start by the end of 2020.”

That article also notes, “While the government has approved the advance of pilot fracking projects, authorities have still not given the green light to actual E&P [exploration and production] of the estimated reserves, which could total up to 7 billion barrels of crude and equivalents, according to industry estimates.”

Fracking pilot projects in Magdalena Medio and La Guajira

RCN Radio adds, “Bayón said that they are currently waiting for the National Government to announce the regulations, from a technical point of view, around the pilots that would take place in the [departments of] Magdalena Medio and in La Guajira.”

Regulations to be ready this year

On October 2, Valora reported, “Regulations for fracking pilots in Colombia will be ready before the end of 2019: ANH.”

That article notes, “The president of the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), Luis Miguel Morelli, said [on October 2] that the government is moving forward in the regulation of fracking pilots that would begin to develop in 2020.”

Investor guarantees

The Valora article highlights, “The official said the regulation would include guarantees for investors who place money to develop pilots in the country.”

Violation of constitutional rights

The Alliance for a Colombia Free of Fracking has stated that fracking would violate the Colombian constitutional principles that guarantee citizens the right to life, the right to water, and the right to a healthy environment.

Impact on campesinos

The United Nations Development Programme has highlighted that, “Colombia is at high risk from climate change impacts.”

The Bogota Post has also reported, “It is Colombia’s campesinos, who have already borne the brunt of a long conflict, who are likely to be hit hardest [by climate change].”

In 1994, Vancouver-based Eco Oro Minerals Corporation (then called Greystar Resources) acquired mining rights in the Santurbán Páramo and began carrying out exploration related to their proposed Angostura open-pit gold and silver mine.

Santurban is a high-altitude wetland ecosystem that serves as a source of drinking water for about two million people in the city of Bucaramanga and surrounding areas.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) highlights, “Colombian law prohibits mining within páramo limits, but companies take advantage of its ambiguous delimitation to push forward with so-called ‘development’ in the area.”

The Luis Carlos Perez Lawyers’ Collective (CCALCP), which receives protective accompaniment from Peace Brigades International, has worked to defend this ecosystem.

In February 2016, CCALCP saw success when Colombia’s constitutional court ruled that mining in the páramos was illegal.

The Bogota Post reports, “Previously, companies had been operating under a loophole that exempted mining licenses issued before February 2010. The court deemed these exceptions ‘unconstitutional’ and cited the ecological importance of the páramos, including their role in providing 85 per cent of the country’s drinking water.”

In March 2016, Eco Oro announced that it would take its dispute to international arbitration through the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). It registered its challenge in December 2016.

Mongabay notes, “The company argued that Colombia violated its obligations under the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement when the state implemented measures to protect the Sánturban Páramo, limiting the company’s future prospects.”

While Eco Oro claims to have invested US$250 million in the project, it is seeking US$764 million as compensation for the cancellation of the project.

The World Bank website notes that the “Status of Proceeding” is “Pending” and the latest website update notes, “October 10, 2019 – The Respondent files a rejoinder on the merits and a reply on jurisdiction.”

In search of Eco Oro in Vancouver

The Vancouver address for Eco Oro Minerals Corporation is both listed as “333 Seymour Street, Suite 1430” and “1055 West Hastings Street, Suite 300”. The Eco Oro website itself says, “Website is currently under construction”.

When Colombian human rights defenders from CCALCP and CREDHOS recently visited Vancouver, they first went to 333 Seymour Street. A telephone call to the receptionist there redirected them to 1055 West Hastings Street.

A receptionist on the 3rd floor at 1055 West Hastings confirmed that Eco Oro was located there though there was no evident signage.

Furthermore, the building directory in the lobby listed the same address as “Colombia Crest Gold Corp.”, another mining company with interests in Colombia.

Colombian human rights defenders seeking to protect the United Nations-recognized human right to drinking water from Canadian corporate extractivism face both the opaqueness of the World Bank’s investment tribunal system and even something as basic as the whereabouts of the physical office location of Eco Oro.

Peace Brigades International-Canada continues to monitor this situation.

Colombian human rights defenders from CCALCP and CREDHOS met with Global Affairs Canada officials on November 4-5 in Ottawa and posed questions about the Annual Report produced in relation to the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCOFTA) entered into force in August 2011 under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

CoDevelopment Canada has explained that in the lead up to the signing of the agreement protests against the deal highlighting the severity of human rights violations in Colombia resulted in a clause requiring both the Canadian and Colombian governments to produce annual reports on the human rights impacts of the deal.

Limited scope, private sector activities excluded

The Government of Canada tabled its eighth report (for the year 2018) in May 2019.

This year’s report highlights tariff reductions, rather than investment, and states, “Private sector activities are not within the scope of the report.”

Notably, there is no apparent reference in the annual report to issues relating to Canadian investment in Colombia in the mining and oil and gas sectors.

That’s unfortunate given Global Affairs Canada has highlighted elsewhere that there are more than 100 Canadian companies currently operating in Colombia with “infrastructure, extractives and financial services assets in excess of $5 billion.”

Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS)

Significantly, the agreement includes an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism that allows foreign investors (i.e., Canadian corporations) to sue governments (i.e., the Colombian government) in private tribunals over public policy measures that affect their investments and future profits.

Given this, it’s surprising that there is also no apparent reference in the reports subsequent to Vancouver-based Eco Oro Minerals Corporation filing an investor-state challenge through the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) citing the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

Eco Oro is suing Colombia for lost future profits over the blocking of a proposed gold and silver mine in the Santurbán Páramo wetland ecosystem that provides drinking water to approximately 2 million people.

Indigenous rights, Canadian extractivism

Furthermore, Amnesty International has highlighted the reports have failed to assess “the rapidly increasing presence of extractive companies in and around the territories of Indigenous peoples amidst armed conflict, grave human rights violations and forced displacement that, according to Colombia’s Constitutional Court, threaten more than one-third of Indigenous nations in Colombia with physical or cultural extermination.”

An article in Petroleum Economist this past July titled Colombian fracking edges closer to reality concludes with the sentence, “Unconventional assets are also often near indigenous lands, which could pose further headaches.”

This is particularly notable given hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is expected to start in Colombia in mid-2020 with Calgary-based Parex Resources Inc. having already expressed interest in this form of extractivism there.

Human rights defenders

The report does highlight, “In the case of human rights defenders, although the peace agreement includes mechanisms intended to guarantee their physical protection and their ability to conduct their work, statistics continue to illustrate a worrying trend.”

And yet the social genocide – the killing of 738 social leaders since January 2016 – does not raise questions in the report about the advisability of Canadian extractivist industries contributing to environmental conflicts in Colombia.

Amnesty International has cautioned, “Experience has proven that promoting trade and investment in conflict zones carries significant risks of exacerbating or benefiting from human rights violations.”

Submissions to the report

There is an annual opportunity for the public to submit their comments on the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement to Global Affairs Canada. That said, the report states that those serve “to inform the analysis of the report” rather than being meaningfully reflected or substantially shaping the content of the report.

In fact, Amnesty International sees the scope and methodology of the report as so problematic that it now refuses to make submissions for the report unless there are significant changes made in the formulation of the reports.

Peace Brigades International continues to listen to the frontline human rights defenders it accompanies in Colombia, including the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) and the Luis Carlos Perez Lawyers’ Collective (CCALCP).

We also share the call that has been made by Amnesty International for the Government of Canada to commission a comprehensive, independent and impartial human rights assessment of the impact of the trade and investment agreement with Colombia and to take the steps needed to address the concerns raised.

When Colombian human rights defenders from the Luis Carlos Perez Lawyers’ Collective (CCALCP) and the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) were recently in Toronto they stopped at the office of Brookfield Assets Management.

That’s because in 2016 Brookfield bought a majority share in the Colombian power generation and distribution company Isagen.

Isagen owns five hydroelectric dams in Colombia, including the controversial Sogamoso Hydroelectric Dam which is located 30 kilometres west of Bucaramanga.

Construction on the 190-metre tall dam on the Sogamoso River began in February 2009 and it went into operation in December 2014.

Six opponents of the dam killed

In an article about controversial hydroelectric dam projects, EurActiv reported, “Examples include the Sogamoso dam in northern Colombia, where, between 2009 and 2014, six activists have been killed and many more disappeared without a trace.”

Miguel Pabón disappeared

In November 2012, International Rivers posted, “Miguel Pabón, a community leader and ardent defender of the Sogamoso River has gone missing in the region of Santander, Colombia.”

“He is a dedicated and distinguished environmentalist, and tireless defender of the Sogamoso River and of the communities of fishermen and farmers that depend on it.”

“[He has fought] alongside the community for housing rights of those displaced by the Hidrosogamoso Dam in the region of Magdalena Medio.”

The article also notes, “He has continued to speak out against the social, cultural and environmental impacts of the dam, as well as the violation of the rights of communities by ISAGEN, the company responsible for the project.”

Impact on fishing communities

Vanguardia has reported that there was once an abundance of fish downstream of the dam in the community of Betulia, Santander.

That article notes, “But today, the pollution of the river, its low oxygen levels and the ‘shortages’ of the best specimens that are trapped in the upper part of the dam, are fishermen and their families, who find no way to solve the crisis.”

It adds, “This, not to mention that the cassava, banana and corn crops were turned into marshlands before the constant floods generated by the opening of the floodgates by Isagen.”

Fish deaths in Barrancabermeja

In March of this year, El Espectador published an article titled Community denounces fish and bird deaths in Barrancabermeja.

That article notes, “The fishermen of the San Silvestre spout, in Santander, denounce that since the middle of February there is a fish mortality in the place. According to them, this emergency is due to the fact that Isagen, a company in charge of the Sogamoso dam, opened the floodgates to feed the river that bears the same name.”

Lawsuit over Bucaramanga-Barrancabermeja road

In May, Vanguardia reported that a lawsuit against Isagen was admitted by the Administrative Court of Santander.

The article notes, “It argues the breach of the inter-administrative agreement 077 of 2011 signed with the National Roads Institute, Invías, for the construction of a replacement route 11.5 kilometers long, between Bucaramanga and Barrancabermeja, replacing the national road that was affected by the construction of the Hidrosogamoso reservoir.”

Hearings on November 21, December 6

And on November 1, El Tiempo reported, “On November 21 and December 6, the National Environmental Licensing Authority (ANLA) will hold an informational meeting and an Environmental Public Hearing respectively with the communities, the Canadian company Isagén and civil authorities, to analyze the request for modification of the environmental license granted to the Sogamoso Hydroelectric Project, owned by the power generator.”

The modification appears to involve a plan to release 2.7 hectares of the protected area of the Topocoro reservoir in order to build a port.

The president of Cortopocoro said that people affected by Hidrosogamoso will present evidence at the hearing of the breaches and damages they have experienced such as “the movement of wild animals, the closing of the roads, the prohibition of access to water, the impediment to the development of tourism and the damage to crops.”

Dams and human rights

International Rivers has stated that an estimated 400-800 million people globally fall into the category of dam-affected people.

It highlights, “In response to the massive human rights problems and environmental impacts of large dams, affected people and supporting local and international organizations have joined together to fight for change in how and whether dams are planned, designed and built. This movement includes thousands of environmental, human rights, and social activist groups around the world.”

Further reading: CCALCP helped stop Toronto-based Brookfield Asset ‘Piedra del Sol’ hydroelectric project in Colombia

Peace Brigades International-Canada is pleased to be a co-sponsor of a speaking tour in Canada by Isabel Cristina Zuleta of the Rios Vivos movement in Colombia.

Following events in Vancouver, Kelowna, Saskatoon, Montreal, Winnipeg and Quebec City, Zuleta will be speaking at public forums in Ottawa with Anthony Prior from Chile (November 19) and in Toronto with Natalia Atz Sunuc from Guatemala (November 27).

Zuleta is speaking in opposition to the Ituango hydroelectric megaproject on the Cauca River in northwest Colombia. The dam is being jointly developed by Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) and the government of Antioquia.

Zuleta notes, “Since its launch in 1997, this megaproject has been imposed by violence and the forced displacement of the population, victims of the armed conflict.”

And Marie-Ève ​​Marleau of the Committee for Human Rights in Latin America (CDHAL) highlights, “It is unfortunate that the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Export Development Canada are financing this project. The money of the citizens of Quebec and Canada should not be used by governments or corporations to contribute to death projects, such as Hidroituango.”

Above Ground has noted, “EPM, a Colombian state-owned enterprise, has twice benefitted from the support of Export Development Canada (EDC) in recent years. In 2016 and 2017, EDC provided EPM with financing totalling between 500 million and one billion dollars.”

In May 2018, flooding caused by a blockage in a diversion tunnel at the Ituango dam left 600 people homeless and destroyed two bridges, two schools and a health centre. Following that, heavy rains and fears of another wave of flooding forced the evacuation of an estimated 120,000 people.

In June 2018, The Guardian reported, “Zuleta worries about the security of those who campaign against the dam: two other Ríos Vivos members in Antioquia were murdered last month, part of a worrying trend in Colombia.”

Frontline Defenders has posted, “On 2 May 2018, human rights defender Hugo Albeiro George Pérez was shot and killed by an unknown individual, while he was participating in a peaceful protest to oppose the impact of Hidroituango… The human rights defender’s nephew, Domar Egidio Zapata George, was also killed in the attack.”

And in September 2013, Radio Mundo Real reported that Rios Vivos leader Nelson Giraldo Posada was brutally killed. “He was found by the shore of river Cauca with his throat slit and bullets in his chest and legs.”

Preliminary construction on the dam began in September 2011 and this summer Hydro Review reported that its “best-case scenario” in-service date is December 2021.

For a short video with English subtitles, please see Isabel Zuleta Denounces Flooding of Hidroituango Dam.

Colombian human rights defenders Julia Figueroa and Andrea Nocove from the Luis Carlos Perez Lawyers’ Collective (CCALCP) and Ivan Madero from the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) accompanied by Javier Garate from Peace Brigades International-Colombia and Brent Patterson from Peace Brigades International-Canada have just completed an 8-day solidarity tour of Canada.

Saturday November 2 – Toronto

The delegation arrived early in the morning at Toronto Pearson International Airport after an overnight flight from the El Dorado International Airport in Bogota.

The Colombian delegation was interviewed by Melissa Tessler, a Toronto-based lawyer with expertise in international human rights and international criminal law, board member of Lawyers’ Rights Watch (Legal Research) Canada, and an active member of the Colombia monitoring group for Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada.

The delegation celebrated the 25^th anniversary of PBI-Colombia with PBI-Canada Board members Luis van Isschot and Paul Bocking, past accompanier Scott Pearce, and numerous friends and allies (including from Amnesty International, Kairos and the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network). Further reading: PBI-Colombia and CREDHOS, 25 years of accompaniment and defending human rights and profiles of past PBI volunteers from Canada to Colombia including Scott Pearce, Luis van Isschot, Heidi Mitton and Stephen Law.

Sunday November 3 – Toronto

The delegation met with Angela D’Elia Decembrini, a Toronto-based lawyer with First Peoples Law, a law firm that provides legal support to First Nations across Canada. Angela is also a board member of the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP), a volunteer-driven transnational, collaborative, community-based legal clinic that assists in holding corporations and states to account by offering legal knowledge to communities that are negatively affected by natural resource extraction. One of the issues discussed was Indigenous opposition to fracking in Colombia. Further reading: Indigenous communities in Colombia want to protect the Amazon rainforest from fracking.

The delegation visited the office of Frontera Energy at 333 Bay Street to highlight that Toronto-based company’s minority-share ownership of the 483-kilometre long, 236,000 barrel per day Magdalena Valley to Coveñas oil pipeline that could be used to transport fracked oil. Further reading: CSPP and COSPACC take concerns about Toronto-based Frontera Energy to the United Nations and What Canadian companies might be involved in fracking in Colombia? 

The delegation visited the office of Brookfield Assets Management at Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street to highlight the company’s ownership of the controversial Sogamoso Hydroelectric Dam in Colombia. Further reading: Canadian owned dam on the Sogamoso River in Colombia impacts human rights and CCALCP helped stop Toronto-based Brookfield Asset ‘Piedra del Sol’ hydroelectric project in Colombia.

The delegation traveled by VIA Rail from Toronto’s Union Station that evening and were greeted by friends at the Ottawa train station.

Monday November 4 – Ottawa

The delegation met with Anna-Louise Pentland, Deputy Director of Human Rights and Eric Bertram, Deputy Director/Political at Global Affairs Canada. This discussion focused on the “Voices at Risk: Canada’s Guidelines on Supporting Human Rights Defenders” document. Further reading: Global Affairs releases “Voices at Risk” guidelines for Canadian diplomats to support human rights defenders.

The delegation attended a “lunch and learn” gathering convened by Louise Casselman of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Social Justice Fund. The strategy session was attended by numerous PSAC staff people as well as Kelti Cameron from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and Kathy Price from Amnesty International.

The delegation spoke at a well-attended public forum at Amnesty International House in Ottawa. This event was co-sponsored by the Americas Policy Group of the Canadian Council for International Cooperation, the PSAC Social Justice Fund, Amnesty International, MiningWatch Canada, and Peace Brigades International.

Tuesday November 5 – Ottawa

The delegation along with Kathy Price from Amnesty International met with representatives from Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada’s export credit agency and a state-owned enterprise wholly owned by the Government of Canada. This article on the Export Development Canada website highlights opportunities in Colombia related to “the development of unconventional resources, like fracking and deep-water exploration.”

The delegation met with Jean-Francois Bastien, Senior Desk Officer, Colombia (Political & Trade) and numerous members of the Latin America division at Global Affairs Canada. This meeting focused on many aspects, including the Annual Report that is produced in relation to the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Further reading: Human rights concerns and the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

The delegation took a short moment to see Parliament Hill and the Prime Minister’s Office before heading to the airport to travel to Vancouver.

Wednesday November 6 – Vancouver

The delegation presented to a Latin American Studies course at Langara College taught by Jessie Smith. They presented both a historical context and overview of the current political situation in Colombia. The delegation was met at the college by PBI-Canada Board member Heather Neun.

After the presentation at Langara College, the delegation was interviewed by Lina Chung for an article in The Langara Voice newspaper.

The delegation met with lawyer Kate Gunn of First Peoples Law who is also a board member of the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project. The discussion provided an overview of the current situation in Colombia and began to explore the legal issues in that regard. Further reading: CCALCP seeks the implementation of T-880 and the right to free, prior and informed consent in Colombia, CCALCP calls for the implementation of T-361 and protection of the Santurbán páramo and CCALCP, the defence of Bari territory and Judgement T-052.

The delegation visited the office of Eco Oro Minerals Corporation which is involved in a $764 million investor-state challenge against Colombia over its proposed Angostura open-pit gold and silver mine in the Santurbán Páramo that provides drinking water to 2 million people. Further reading: Vancouver-based Eco Oro sues Colombia for $764 million through the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

The delegation met with Nastenka Calle, Program Manager of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions at Simon Fraser University. Fracking in Colombia could unleash up to 7 billion barrels of oil which puts it on the frontlines of the global struggle against climate breakdown.

The delegation spoke to a well-attended public forum at Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. The delegation was visibly moved by the welcome to the territory by Musqueam land defender Audrey Siegel. This public forum was co-sponsored by the SFU Institute for the Humanities, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, MiningWatch Canada, Amnesty International and Peace Brigades International.

Thursday November 7 – Vancouver

The delegation met with lawyers Laura Best and Lobat Sadrehashemi at Embarkation Law Corporation as well as other immigration and refugee lawyers and refugee support staff to discuss the current context in Colombia and the implications for refugee claims in Canada. In July 2019, the Toronto Star reported, “According to Canada’s refugee board, the number of Colombian refugee claimants tripled to 2,582 last year from 820 in 2016, with another 671 seeking asylum in the first three months of 2019 alone.” This Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada website states that 458 of the 2,582 claims were accepted in 2018.

The delegation met with Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) board members with expertise in international human rights law, Gail Davidson, Grace Woo and Heather Neun (also a member of the PBI-Canada Board and the Colombia monitor for LRWC).

The delegation then participated in a discussion of the Colombian human rights context which was convened by Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada and that brought together Ontario and B.C.-based lawyers, among them: Joe Fiorante Q.C., who led the six-year long legal battle between a group of Guatemala protestors and Tahoe Resources winning a public apology for the infringement of the human rights of protestors, and Matt Eisenbrandt, a specialist in business and human rights cases and a special advisor to the Canadian Centre for International Justice, as well as LRWC board member Brian Samuels, Q.C. and Lawyers Rights Watch (Legal Research) Canada board member Margaret Stanier, and other members of the British Columbia bar.

The delegation was interviewed by Filiberto Celada-Alejos, co-host for the CFRO Radio 100.5 FM program América Latina al Día. They then joined a social gathering with Ola Pazifica, a solidarity organization that draws together members of the Colombian community in the Lower Mainland.

Friday November 8 – Nanaimo

The delegation traveled early in the morning from Vancouver to Nanaimo across the Strait of Georgia via a BC Ferries ferry. Some members of the delegation saw a whale spout during the 90-minute journey to Vancouver Island. They were greeeted in Nanaimo by PBI-Canada Board member Fiona Meyer Cook.

The delegation was introduced by Fiona Meyer Cook (also a Professor in the Social Work Department at Vancouver Island University) to Dr. Philip Oxhorn, the Dean of the Faculty of International Education and Dr. Lynda Phillips , Associate Dean, Faculty of Health and Human Services at VIU.

The delegation had lunch at Vancouver Island University with numerous guests including Bob Chamberlain, a former vice-president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) and a member of the Kwikwasutinuxw Haxwa’mis Nation.

The delegation presented to a well-attended public forum at Vancouver Island University that was co-sponsored by the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association, World VIU Days, Amnesty International Canada, MiningWatch Canada and Peace Brigades International. 

The delegation met with Green Party Member of Parliament Paul Manly and his partner Samantha Letourneau to discuss a wide range of concerns about Canadian corporate impunity in Colombia. The delegation invited Manly to visit Colombia to see the impact of Canadian corporations there and were delighted that he accepted their invitation to participate in a Canadian human rights delegation in 2020.

Saturday November 9 – Vancouver Island

The delegation met with Robert Morales and Rosanne Daniels of the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group (HTG) at their office in Duncan. The delegation was deeply moved to learn about the historic and ongoing struggles linked to colonization and the HTG’s efforts to address ongoing land and human rights violations. The delegation also learned about the HTG’s outstanding petition against Canada before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), alleging violations of its rights to property, culture, equality and effective judicial protection and remedies. To read the IACHR’s positive admissibility decision, please click here: Canada P592-07 Hul’Qumi’num Treaty Group – Admissibility Report.

The delegation met with New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Alistair MacGregor and his assistant Jennifer Hermary at their office in Duncan. One of the issues discussed at this meeting was MacGregor’s “Bill C-431, which would amend the investment policies, standards and procedures of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to ensure that they are in line with ethical, human rights, and environmental considerations. Canadians expect these funds to be invested properly.”

The delegation met with Green Party Member of the Legislative Assembly Sonia Furstenau and her partner Blaise Salmon, the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s director of Electoral Area A (Mill Bay/Malahat). The delegation raised many issues including fracking, water protection, climate change, and the Colombian government’s intention to resume the aerial spraying of the toxic herbicide glyphosate in Colombia. Further reading: Climate change and the threat of aerial glyphosate spraying of coca crops in Colombia.

Sunday November 10 – Victoria

The delegation, having been driven to Victoria the previous evening by Meyer Cook, departed on early morning flights from Victoria International Airport with much information to process and a continued deep commitment to work for human rights, climate justice, water protection and the peace process in Colombia.

To help us cover the costs of the follow-up needed on the important issues raised during the tour, please consider making a secure online donation via the Peace Brigades International-Canada website here.