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Claiming itself to be a global peacekeeper and promoter of human rights, Canada is hiding its legacy of colonialism and connections between corporate pursuit of profit and Canadian foreign and domestic policy. Since its founding in 1867, Canada has been colonizing the land of indigenous people and systematically draining the environment and extracting wealth at home and abroad.
Canada has participated in direct military intervention in Haiti and Afghanistan, has supported the Coup in Honduras, an authoritarian military regime in Colombia; is a notorious perpetrator of structural adjustment policies, of free trade agreements, and the forced opening of third world markets.Canada is the US of mining with 75% of the world's mining companies, which have been accused of violating international and national laws, as well as environmental and human rights both in Canada, in Latin America, the Caribbean and beyond.
Canadian imperialism occurs internationally, but also within our country and our communities. Vancouver, which stands on unceded Coast Salish territories, is home to the majority of them. Recently, SFU renamed the Contemporary Arts Centre after Canadian mining company Goldcorp in exchange for their donation of $10 million, further contributing to SFU's gentrification of the downtown eastside. This donation arrived shortly before legislation which would make mining companies accountable for their actions overseas came before parliament.
