February 21, 2023

Concerns of affected Indigenous and campesino communities in Ecuador regarding a possible FTA with Canada C ' 2 especially and potentially in the mining sector in Ecuador given the conflictive nature of that sector and the often-violent imposition of mining development, underlined by the fact that the visible acts of resistance to mining in the country come from areas affected by decades of insist. [...] According to a report by the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja and other organizations, the project covers 72,676 hectares in a fragile páramo ecosystem that is the source of 50% of the water consumed by the 225,000 residents of Loja and Saraguro and the 50,000 residents of El Oro. [...] Primarily the women of the Kichwa Saraguro people are leading the resistance to mining in this area, defending their territory, water, and agricultural production which provides jobs and sustains the food sovereignty of the communities and the region. [...] Lowell is operating in violation of the right to consultation, given the State did not carry out a free, prior, and informed consultation as established in Article 57.7 of the Constitution, nor does the company have the consent of the Warints or the PSHA government. [...] Concerns about the right to say NO, the right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) and the right of Indigenous communities to self-determination is not being respected by Canadian mining companies and Canadian embassy officials Despite a large social movement against opening the door to further mining investment in Ecuador and citizen-led initiatives/referendums to vote in favour of water a.