Roundtable on the Case of Mariano Abarca
Channel: MiningWatch Canada
Date: 2022-06-13

Does the government have the right to deceive the public?
What does the murder of activist Mariano Abarca in Chiapas, México say about Canadian government accountability?

One might think that public servants are obliged to follow policies and procedures that Canadian government officials testify to in Parliament or publish on the government’s website. But a recent Federal Court ruling says this is not necessarily so. Mariano Abarca’s case is currently before the Federal Court of Appeal.
 
With support from Mexican and Canadian organizations, the family of environmental defender Mariano Abarca, who was murdered in 2009, is seeking an investigation into the Canadian Embassy in Mexico. They believe that the Embassy’s unconditional lobbying in support of a Canadian mining company put Mariano’s life in greater danger in the lead up to his murder. 
 
While senior civil servants in Ottawa were testifying to a Parliamentary Committee that the role of embassies is one of “facilitating dialogue” among all parties in the context of conflict, the family contends that Canadian Embassy officials were assuring the Mexican government that Canadian mining company Blackfire Exploration's operations would continue business-as-usual. Nonetheless, Canada’s Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, who is responsible for receiving complaints about wrongdoing in the public sector, has refused to open an investigation into the Embassy’s failure to adhere to Canada’s policies, arguing that these policies were not official. The Federal Court upheld his decision, which is now before the Federal Court of Appeal. This is the family’s final recourse to seek justice in Canada.
 
As such, this roundtable will discuss Canadian practice when it comes to embassies abroad and conflicts over Canadian mining operations, asking whether Mariano’s case is the pattern or an exception. We will also explore what policy Canadian officials should be expected to follow in such cases, and how Canada’s human rights obligations are fulfilled. Finally, do we have any way to hold public officials to account when things go wrong as they did for Mariano? And if not, what needs to change?

Moderator: Bianca Mugyenyi, Director, Canadian Foreign Policy Institute

1st hour: Economic Diplomacy
• José Luis Abarca, son of Mariano, Chicomuselo, Chiapas, Mexico
• Miguel Mijangos, Mexican Network of Mining Affected People (REMA)
• Charis Kamphuis, Justice and Corporate Accountability Project
• Jen Moore, Global Economy Program, Institute for Policy Studies

2nd hour: Approaches to Enforcement
• Nicholas Pope, lawyer on the case, Hameed Law, Ottawa
• Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary-General, Amnesty International Canada
• Penelope Simons, Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights
• David Yazbek, Lawyer, Centre for Freedom of Expression

Background:

On November 27, 2009, Mariano Abarca was shot and killed in front of his family restaurant in Chicomuselo, Chiapas, in southern Mexico. Abarca had been a key leader in his community’s fight against the social and environmental impacts of a Canadian company’s mining operations. All of the suspects in his murder were connected to the Calgary-based company, Blackfire Exploration. There never has been a full, impartial investigation neither in Mexico nor in Canada.

This case has been brought to Canada because documents obtained through Access to Information show that the Canadian Embassy in Mexico supported Blackfire extensively in the lead up to and following the murder of Mariano Abarca. Embassy officials, the family's lawyers argue, are implicated in his death. In February 2018, Canadian and Mexican organizations asked the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner (PSIC) to investigate the acts and omissions of the Canadian Embassy in Mexico that they believe contributed to putting Mr. Abarca’s life in danger.

The Commissioner refused to commence an investigation in April 2018, and the matter is now before the Federal Court of Appeal. A hearing date has been set for November 8th, 2021.