International Trade committee  I'm sorry; I was locked out of my computer. It crashed. This case is very concerning. Just for a very brief context, for over 20 years, communities in the páramo of Kimsakocha in southern Ecuador have been mobilizing peacefully against Canadian mining companies. Different companies have tried to advance gold projects in the highlands.

International Trade committee  In terms of what the Canadian embassy in Ecuador, in Quito, is saying about this, what we find is that, as before, there is still this promotion of mining, of Canadian mining in Ecuador. What we've seen in the last year or so is this tendency to emphasize that what Canada brings to the table is responsible mining—the language of “responsible and sustainable mining”, mining that is focused on women's rights and so on.

International Trade committee  Yes, sure. Thank you for the question. What we know from our work in Ecuador is that there are at least 15 Canadian mining companies trying to advance mining projects in Ecuador. Most of these projects are known for their social and environmental impacts. Most of them are denounced by indigenous-encompassing communities because of their environmental impacts.

International Trade committee  Thank you. Thank you, members of the committee, for inviting us to this hearing. MiningWatch Canada is a Canadian organization that for over two decades has worked in solidarity with indigenous peoples and non-indigenous communities struggling to protect their lives and territories from human rights abuses and environmental damage across Canada and by Canadian mining companies operating internationally.