E-7299: Petition to the Government of Canada — Canadian Petition Tracker
Canonical URL: https://petitiontracker.ca/petition/e-7299
Track petition E-7299 — "Petition to the Government of Canada" sponsored by Elizabeth May. 787 signatures and counting. See signature growth trends and provincial breakdown on PetitionTracker.ca.
Petition Text
Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
• Since 2011, Xinka Indigenous communities in Guatemala have peacefully opposed the Escobal mine—owned by Vancouver based Pan American Silver since 2019—due to concerns about water contamination and depletion in a largely agricultural region, as well as serious social, cultural, and spiritual impacts and the denial of their right to self determination;
• As a result of their resistance, Xinka people have faced harassment, threats, attacks, defamation, persecution, police repression, a military state of siege, and the denial of their cultural existence;
• In 2017, Guatemala’s Supreme Court ordered the suspension of the Escobal project for lack of prior consultation and discrimination, a decision upheld in 2018 by the Constitutional Court, which established the terms of the consultation process;
• In May 2025, after nearly seven years of court mandated consultation, the Xinka Indigenous People of Guatemala denied consent for the restart of the Escobal mine;
• Despite this clear rejection, Pan American Silver continues to promote the mine’s reopening;
• Canada has international obligations to uphold Indigenous peoples’ right to free, prior, and informed consent and to protect environmental and human rights defenders; and
• Canadian mining companies must not violate Indigenous peoples’ rights.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. Publicly reaffirm the Xinka people’s right to free, prior, and informed consent and self determination, and call upon Pan American Silver and Guatemalan authorities to respect the results of the consultation process; and 2. Direct Canadian consular officials to protect Xinka defenders by fully implementing Voices at Risk: Canada’s Guidelines on Supporting Human Rights Defenders to ensure their safety and security.
1. Publicly reaffirm the Xinka people’s right to free, prior, and informed consent and self determination, and call upon Pan American Silver and Guatemalan authorities to respect the results of the consultation process; and
2. Direct Canadian consular officials to protect Xinka defenders by fully implementing Voices at Risk: Canada’s Guidelines on Supporting Human Rights Defenders to ensure their safety and security.