Silver Standard Resources Inc. has refused to participate in a mediation process with Canada’s Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor for the Extractive Sector…Silver Standard’s 100%-owned Pirquitas project…has come under fire by indigenous and community representatives from three communities who claim the mine is polluting their rivers with toxic waste and failing to engage with them on the issue. Affected community members sought the assistance of the CSR Counsellor after first approaching the company’s local stakeholder engagement mechanism, which was unresponsive. The CSR Counsellor’s efforts to initiate informal mediation and “trust-building” were thwarted when Silver Standard withdrew from the process… Victims of Canadian mining companies should have access to Canadian courts and the government needs to create an effective, extractive sector Ombudsman that can investigate complaints and report on findings with or without a company’s cooperation…