Images of Africa Film and discussion series
Trade, inequality and international cooperation

Report of the Images of Africa events - January 25th - February 2nd..

The first day in the Images of Africa film and discussion series was a success! Over 50 people participated in the opening conference on trade and human rights in Africa, which took place at the UNESCO Chair of Philosophy at l’UQAM.

The rich content of the exchanges was due in part to the diversity of the speakers, as well as to their differing yet complimentary areas of work. The speakers included a professor; a researcher involved in the National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility and the Canadian Extractive Industry in Developing Countries; two members of a large and active Canadian NGO; a civil society representative from DR Congo; and a professor and member of a collective that examines North-South academic relations.
 
Mve-Ondo Bonaventure from the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie opened the conference by discussing the power dynamics in academic exchanges between countries in the global north and south.

Bonnie Campbell is the director of GRAMA (Groupe de recherche sur les activités minières en Afrique) and member of the Advisory Committee to the National Roundtables on corporate social responsibility in the extractive industry. In her opening remarks, Campbell put the conference theme in context by highlighting the importance of the mining industry to the Canadian economy. Canadian companies invested 2.8 billion US dollars in mining operations throughout Africa in 2006 alone. Campbell also rebuked the logic that foreign investment in mining serves to promote growth and reduce poverty in the global south. This informed and critical view point set the tone for the rest of the conference. 

Marry Durran is the Research Program Officer at  Development and Peace. She focused on the problems that countries in the global south encounter when trying to regulate foreign mining companies operating on their territory.  She noted that challenges surrounding mining in these countries exist on a number of different fronts, including the environment, the destruction of the informal economy and the violation of economic rights through unfair contracts.

Durran discussed last year’s National Roundtables on corporate social responsibility and the Canadian extractive industry, where mining companies and civil society organizations collaborated to issue a number of recommendations for the regulation of Canadian companies abroad. Durran noted that these recommendations remain voluntary and not obligatory for these operations. The recommendations include the creation of an independent ombudsperson who would receive and investigate complaints from civil society.

Presently those directly affected by mining have no real forum through which to express their grievances. What is more, the government of Canada argues that it cannot enforce norms on companies operating in these regions as it is the host country’s obligation to regulate commerce there. Durran commented that this was an unfair assumption as these governments don’t have the capacity to defend their populations’ interests when negotiating contracts with large multinational firms.

Serge Blais of Development and Peace brought the conversation to Africa, highlighting some of the problems faced by countries when dealing with foreign mining companies. These included environmental destruction, work conditions and the negotiation of contracts in times of conflict. Small scale, largely unregulated operations make up 90 percent of mining done in the Congo. Ten million “diggers” or “creuseurs” work in the DR Congo, earning between 1 and 6 dollars per day. Mining companies benefit greatly from low-cost labour, avoiding the switch to more expensive, highly-mechanized operations.

Although the salary of a mine worker is higher than that of a farmer, the work is extremely difficult. The quality of life in the area also decreases especially when labour is drained from cultivation. Blais stressed that the arrival of foreign mining companies in fact does not create new jobs in the region -- for each job created in the formal sector he estimates that eight are destroyed in the informal sector. Highly specialized jobs created by the mining company go to specialists from outside the community which raises the cost of living in the surrounding area. What is more, the profits turned by foreign companies are not equally shared with or reinvested in local economies.

Ferdinand Muhigirwa of the Forum de la société civil (DR Congo) brought forth several key points. He noted that the Great Lakes region, particularly DR Congo, is home to the largest copper and cobalt reserve in the world -- two minerals indispensable for the electronic and arms manufacturing industries.  The largest diamond reserve in the world is also located here, along with other deposits of resources like radium and uranium. Following the advice of the World Bank, the Congo privatized its mining industry between 1993 and 1994 in order to reimburse its national debt. A veritable pillage of the country’s natural resources then took place between 1996 and 2003. This was a period of intense conflict when the administration in power signed unfair contracts in order to quickly finance the war.

For this reason, in 2003 the Dialogue Intercongolais set up a commission that would revise 63 mining contracts signed between 1996 and 2003.  Contracts during this period were signed under pressure and for the sole purpose of gaining quick funds to finance the war. They were thus largely disadvantageous for the Congo. The commission recommended that one third be renegotiated and two-thirds to be cancelled. None of the contracts examined were deemed “clean”. This revision process has been an important step towards the strengthening of democratic institutions in the DR Congo.

Finally, Alain Deneault from the Ressources d’Afrique collective closed the conference by deploring the lack of public discourse surrounding the systematic abuses carried out by the Canadian mining industry. He argued that Canadians need to be aware of the fact that their pensions -- the Régime de rente du Québec or the Canada Pension Plan -- are invested in the mining industry. Deneault also denounced the lax regulations for mining companies registered on the Toronto Stock Exchange, noting that Canada is the world leader in mining exploration and exploitation. In his opinion, we should not only stigmatize the Toronto Stock Exchange, but make companies legally accountable for their actions abroad.

The informed discussion that followed touched upon the role of the Canadian government and civil society in the regulation of the environmental, social and economic impact of mining in the global south. A key question arose: Does the extractive industry reduce poverty in the world, or simply increase global inequality?

The conference provided an opportunity for the general public to learn more about the follow-up to the roundtables as well as to get a glimpse at mining’s social, financial and environmental impact on developing countries.

Followed by the screening and discussion at 5 p.m.:
When Silence is Golden, a documentary by Alexandra Sicotte Lévesque (English with French subtitles)

When Silence is Golden, a documentary by Alexandra Sicotte-Levesque, examines the relationship between a small community in western Ghana and Golden Star Ressources, a Canadian mining company operating in the region. In the director’s quest to shed some light on this complex situation, she touches upon race, local politics and a number of international human rights issues.

Please contact the SJC for renting the DVD!

Thursday January 31

The screening of Darwin’s Nightmare at Cinema du Parc was a success as well. This documentary by Huber Sauper depicts the fish industry in Lake Victoria, where companies export immense quantities of Nile perch to European consumers while hunger and famine threaten the surrounding region. Christine Laliberte, Deputy Director of Québec Programs at  Oxfam-Québec, spoke to the urgent need to regulate the arms trade. She also discussed the concrete ways for Montrealers to get involved.

Saturday February 2
West African dinner and screening of Bamako, a film by Abderrahmane Sissako at Centre Afrika at 5 p.m. (in French)

At the Centre Afrika screening of Bamako the crowd packed in to enjoy a night of film, discussion and international cuisine. Sidi Hartane of the Mauritanian Community in Canada discussed debt and global power relations, linking his intervention to immigration and the “brain drain” from the global south. The conversation that followed was passionate and informed. As is mentioned in the film, in Cameroon, 4% of its annual budget is allotted to social services where 36% is diverted to debt repayment. Participants argued that debt forgiveness is key to the development of health and social services in Africa. It is not, however,  the only action needed to reduce poverty as economic and political stability, private sector growth and international relations play a major role.

With the collaboration of the UQAM-UNESCO Chair, the Afrika Centre and Cinéma du Parc.

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