Our Grassroots Human Rights Advocacy Partnership
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We work in collaboration with several national and international organizations to impact Canadian mining interests on the Indigenous Peoples of the Cordillera region.
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We sponsor resolutions affecting United Church policies
We appear before Parliamentary Committees We speak at human rights conferences We host international visits We work for justice and peace |
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The Beaconsfield Initiative is currently based on two exposure missions to the Philippines. During these two missions, the damage and human rights violations we observed caused by the Canadian Mining Industry were prominent and disturbing. This information can easily be linked to similar problems in the Congo and Guatemala.
We visited the Philippines for 13 days, visiting many rural communities. Most of these were directly impacted by mining activities that resulted in environmental degradation, human rights violations, militarization, and other socioeconomic impacts on the communities.
Upon entering the communities, we were met with unabashed hospitality and openness. Instead of finding a people filled with fear, as our North American minds might have expected, we found a people filled with radiance, warmth and welcome.
We visited the Philippines for 13 days, visiting many rural communities. Most of these were directly impacted by mining activities that resulted in environmental degradation, human rights violations, militarization, and other socioeconomic impacts on the communities.
Upon entering the communities, we were met with unabashed hospitality and openness. Instead of finding a people filled with fear, as our North American minds might have expected, we found a people filled with radiance, warmth and welcome.
This is why we sponsored a motion calling for the end of human rights violations, end of illegal arrest, protection of the land, and end of abuse towards women in the Philippines in 2015.
The hoped outcome of this motion was to change the Mining Act to limit the damages caused by the Canadian Mining Corporation, and force them to follow our human rights and labour laws when outside our country.
The hoped outcome of this motion was to change the Mining Act to limit the damages caused by the Canadian Mining Corporation, and force them to follow our human rights and labour laws when outside our country.
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Links regarding the Beaconsfield Initiative:
The United Church of Canada The Vancouver Sun Bulatlat.com The Philippine Solidarity Network |
List of Participants on the Beaconsfield Initiative
The Very Reverend Dr. Bill Phipps, Former Moderator UCC, Calgary
The Reverend Shaun E. Fryday, Beaconsfield United Church, Montreal
Honorio Guerrero, Canadian Philippine Solidarity Group, Vancouver
Beth Dollaga, Canadian Philippine Solidarity Group
Darlene Brewer, Ph.D., (Theology), UCC, Fredericton (Principle Writer)
Guy Lin Beaudoin, UCC, Montreal
The Reverend Patricia Lisson, St. Columba House, UCC, Montreal
The Reverend Marie-Claude Manga, St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, UCC, Montreal
The Reverend Bob McElhinney, UCC, Toronto
Dorothy McElhinney, UCC, Toronto
Ivy Taguik Prénoveau
Alain Prénoveau, Former Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Aboriginal Peoples, Québec, Laval
Connie Sorrio, Kairos, Toronto
Tess Tesalona, Centre for Philippine Concerns, Montreal
Darlene Brewer, Guy-Lin Beaudoin, Shaun Fryday (Writing Team)
The Very Reverend Dr. Bill Phipps, Former Moderator UCC, Calgary
The Reverend Shaun E. Fryday, Beaconsfield United Church, Montreal
Honorio Guerrero, Canadian Philippine Solidarity Group, Vancouver
Beth Dollaga, Canadian Philippine Solidarity Group
Darlene Brewer, Ph.D., (Theology), UCC, Fredericton (Principle Writer)
Guy Lin Beaudoin, UCC, Montreal
The Reverend Patricia Lisson, St. Columba House, UCC, Montreal
The Reverend Marie-Claude Manga, St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, UCC, Montreal
The Reverend Bob McElhinney, UCC, Toronto
Dorothy McElhinney, UCC, Toronto
Ivy Taguik Prénoveau
Alain Prénoveau, Former Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Aboriginal Peoples, Québec, Laval
Connie Sorrio, Kairos, Toronto
Tess Tesalona, Centre for Philippine Concerns, Montreal
Darlene Brewer, Guy-Lin Beaudoin, Shaun Fryday (Writing Team)