Grant: Project Grant

Canada hosts over half of the world's mining companies, active in over 100 countries. With international assets valued at $170 billion, Canadian mining operations contributed $97 billion to Canada's GDP in 2017. While the economic benefits accrue to corporate and state interests, mining often occurs in remote and rural areas inhabited by Indigenous and other minoritized and/or marginalized communities, and has been linked to worsening health, social, and environmental conditions. Too few evidence-based practices have been identified that monitor and report on health and social outcomes, and limited legal mechanisms exist to launch formal investigations. At present, no Canadian laws can compel Canadian companies working abroad to ensure they follow sustainable and ethical mining standards. Our international interdisciplinary team composed of public, population, and environmental health researchers with backgrounds in anthropology, environmental science, global governance, geography, and medicine, and expertise in participatory, qualitative, and quantitative mixed methods are well-positioned to conduct comparative case studies of select communities in Brazil, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Philippines where a Canadian mine predominates. Using a community-engaged approach and intersectional lens, we will explore the impact of the mine on the physical, social, and environmental health and well-being of communities and the role that local, national, transnational policies, politics, and trade agreements play in these issue