 Alexa McDonough, MP for Halifax, Canada and two British MPs, Keith Hill, MP, Streatham, London, and Stephen Pound, MP for Ealing North, London, today wound up their fact finding mission to investigate Canadian mining operations in the Central American country of Honduras.
At a press conference held in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, a joint statement was issued which recognized that as foreign MPs their first duty is to ensure that mining companies from their own countries behave with integrity in their dealings with countries such as Honduras.
"We are highly aware of the significance of the debate around gold mining in Honduras. We live in one world. We wish to do whatever we can to promote the protection of the environment and justice for local communities in Honduras," said Alexa McDonough, reading from the joint statement.
 During their stay they met with a broad cross section of Honduran government and civil society representatives, and visited the Siria Valley, where they met with local communities and the managers of the San Martin mine. They also participated in a tour of the mine to examine the operations close-up.
The MPs statement drew two conclusions:
- There was a broad consensus on the urgent need for reforms to the mining law, and the widespread desire that the present discussions on the reforms should lead to the adoption of the bill in Congress, which they are encouraged would become reality by the end of the year.
- They were convinced the conflicts around gold mining in Honduras are the consequence of the deficiencies of the present mining law, as illustrated by their visits to the communities in the Siria Valley and the San Martin mine run by Entre Mares (a subsidiary of Goldcorp Inc). Since the lack of a clear regulatory framework allows mining companies to define the terms of engagement with the government of Honduras, with local communities and with the environment.
Said Alexa McDonough, "A reform of the law alone will not be sufficient to correct this situation: we see an urgent need to strengthen the technical and operational capacity of state institutions including increased human, technical and financial resources that are needed to adequately monitor and regulate transnational mining corporations that already have vastly superior resources at their disposal."
The three MPs also recognised that the responsible extraction of natural resources is an issue that concerns everyone, and that it is a debate that transcends national borders. The MPs also pledged to bring these issues to the attention of their governments, and recognised that effective regulation in Honduras must be complemented by regulation in the home countries of the mining corporations. They called on all the home countries of mining, oil and gas corporations operating in the countries of the Global South, particularly Canada, to enact standards of corporate social responsibility in overseas operations.
For 40 years, Development and Peace has worked directly with organizations made up of or representing the poor and marginalized in the Global South, and provided $500 million to 15,000 projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. We are presently active with 200 partners in 28 countries in Africa, Asia, and in Latin America. In Canada, we are a democratic movement for international solidarity - educating the public about the root causes of poverty and mobilizing social action for change - with 13,000 members from coast to coast. Development and Peace is the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada.
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