"As miner quells protests in Ecuador, Canadian firms’ rights record faces scrutiny", 15 May 2024

...The latest controversy centers on Atico Mining, headquartered in Vancouver, whose La Plata gold and copper project in Ecuador’s Cotopaxi province, near Quito, has been opposed by residents for at least 15 years. At least 36 protesters were injured, one seriously, along with about 40 security personnel, in a series of protests that began on March 11 and turned violent after the company called in hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel to quell the protests.

The protesters, largely campesino farmers, were opposed to a reported attempt to revive a consultation process by Atico that would put the stalled mining project back on the table. Clashes broke out again on March 18, after which 72 protesters were charged and accused of being “terrorists,” and again on March 19, when they set two security vehicles on fire, according to police. On March 25, an Ecuadorian court temporarily suspended the consultation process in response to a legal protection action filed by the mayor of Sigchos, home to the parish of Pablo Quemado where the consultation would have taken place.

The mayor called for the “effective and immediate protection of the rights recognized in the Constitution and international human rights instruments, the declaration of the violation of one or more rights, as well as comprehensive reparation for the damages caused by its violation.”

Atico Mining didn’t respond to Mongabay’s requests for comment by the time of publication.

Following these violent clashes, neither the Canadian Embassy in Quito nor the Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) Committee have held Atico Mining accountable for what locals say are serious human rights abuses...

Human rights groups have criticized the Canadian Embassy for remaining silent and not acting in the face of what they call ongoing police repression...