Council of Canadians climate justice campaigner Andrea Harden-Donahue and I wrote an op-ed for Vancouver’s Georgia Straight about our visit on November 28 to Cerro San Pedro, the Mexican community where Vancouver-based New Gold operates a devastating mountain-top gold and silver mine. A media report from early-November says that the mine produced a record 37,473 ounces of gold boosting the company’s revenue to $127.1 million in the third quarter.

We write, “As we made our way up a dusty road in Cerro San Pedro, Mexico, we passed a Canadian flag, with a skull and crossbones added to the maple leaf. Witnessing a dry river, missing mountain, and testimonies of people getting sick, we quickly understood why our flag would be displayed (this way) in this small town…”

We were also profoundly touched by several local residents who, despite all they have experienced, apologized for “what we did to your flag.” No apologies were necessary, and we assured them we would take their message back to Canadians. The Georgia Straight has a per issue circulation of more than 117,000 readers and an average weekly readership of almost 693,000 people.

To read our op-ed, please go to http://www.straight.com/article-362797/vancouver/andrea-hardendonahue-and-brent-patterson-caravan-cancun-climate-justice.

To read my campaign blog on the visit, please go to http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5492. Andrea’s blog is at http://www.canadians.org/energyblog/?p=361.

Brent Patterson, Director of Campaigns and Communications, Council of Canadians
www.canadians.org

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Brent Patterson

Brent Patterson is a political activist, writer and the executive director of Peace Brigades International-Canada. He lives in Ottawa on the traditional, unceded and unsurrendered territories of the Algonquin...