Letter from ARSN to NSP Regarding the Power Company's Inaction on Human Rights

Dear Chris Huskilson and Ralph Tedesco,

The recent dialogue between the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (ARSN) and representatives of Nova Scotia Power regarding NSP's importation of Colombian coal linked to human rights abuses has, for all intent and purposes, stalled. Despite the best efforts of ARSN to engage in an open dialogue, representatives of NSP have repeatedly utilized delaying and stalling tactics, while refusing to effectively address the question of human rights abuses related to the Colombian coal the company imports to fuel its power plants.

Eighteen months ago, ARSN launched a campaign to increase awareness among Nova Scotians that coal imported from Colombia by NSP to generate electricity in the province was linked to human rights abuses in that South American country. Since the closing of the last Cape Breton coalmines some five years ago, NSP has become increasingly reliant on Colombian coal, importing more than $78 million worth in 2005. When ARSN first contacted NSP in December 2004 to request that the utility company meet with Francisco Ramirez, president of Colombia's state mineworkers' union, an NSP representative declined, boldly stating: "We cannot concern ourselves with the human rights situation in the countries from which we purchase coal. We are only interested in two things: price and quality".

In March 2005, Ramirez returned to Nova Scotia and NSP again refused to sit down with him to hear his perspective on the human rights abuses related to coal mining in Colombia. However, widespread media coverage of his tour informed many Nova Scotians about the issue. In June 2005, one such Nova Scotian met Mr. Huskilson at a public event and raised the issue of NSP's importation of Colombian coal. To Mr. Huskilson's credit, he realized that ARSN's campaign represented the concerns of many conscientious Nova Scotians who did not want the name of the province or Canada sullied by links to human rights abuses being committed in Colombia.

In a dramatic shift, the same NSP representative who had so flippantly dismissed concerns over human rights only six months earlier contacted ARSN at Mr. Huskilson's behest to request a meeting to discuss the issue. However, it would ultimately become evident that this meeting only took place because Mr. Huskilson had called for it. Despite repeated efforts by ARSN to secure a date for the meeting, it wasn't until seven months later that NSP representatives finally agreed to meet in January 2006.

At that meeting, ARSN presented company representatives with a comprehensive picture of the human rights issues related to coal mining in Colombia-the murder of union leaders in the mining sector and the forced displacement of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities by multinational mining companies. ARSN presented six demands to NSP at that meeting and the company's representatives agreed to respond to them by the end of February.

There were several telephone discussions between ARSN and NSP representatives in the ensuing weeks and the company did agree to look at a coal supplier in Colombia that ARSN had suggested as an alternative source-a worker-owned cooperative whose mining operations were not linked to human rights abuses. The company also agreed to meet with Jose Julio Perez, community representative from the Afro-Colombian village of Tabaco, which had been destroyed by the Cerrejon Mine and its residents forcibly displaced. Perez toured Nova Scotia in March 2006 to raise awareness of the plight of his village.

Meanwhile, the deadline came and went without NSP responding to the demands that directly related to human rights. The two principal demands called on NSP to: 1) issue a public statement that NSP will take all reasonable action to promote the rights of workers and the human rights of villagers in Colombia affected by the production of coal; and 2) condition NSP's purchase of coal from the Cerrejon Mine on the mine owners reaching a negotiated settlement with the displaced community of Tabaco that is acceptable to both sides. An NSP representative claimed that there were delicate legal issues related to making such public statements, including the company's obligation to its shareholders, and that the company's lawyers needed to examine the issue more closely.

Interestingly, ARSN received a flurry of phone calls from NSP representatives in the week leading up to Perez's March visit. Suddenly, it appeared, NSP had developed a real desire to communicate as company representatives repeatedly phoned ARSN, sometimes twice a day. It quickly became evident, however, that the company was not particularly concerned with the welfare of displaced Colombians as much as with its image in the media. NSP representatives only wanted to discuss how ARSN was going to portray the utility company in the media during Perez's tour. Acting in good faith, ARSN promised not to attack NSP in the media as long as the company remained committed to continuing the dialogue.

When three NSP representatives met with Perez and three ARSN members in March, the primary concern of the company remained its public image. Astoundingly, the very first words spoken by an NSP representative exhibited an unbelievable degree of insensitivity to the plight endured by Perez, his family and fellow villagers. The NSP representative opened the meeting by declaring: "Our primary concern here is that NSP not be portrayed negatively in the media. That we not be linked to human rights abuses in Colombia." Sitting in a comfortable meeting room on the 16th floor of NSP's modern Halifax offices, he stated this to an impoverished Colombian peasant who, along with his wife and four children, had been homeless for the previous five years after being forcibly displaced from his home and land without compensation in order to make cheap coal available for NSP and other customers of the Cerrejon Mine.

In the almost four months since that meeting, NSP has made no attempts whatsoever to contact ARSN. The only communication between the two sides has been initiated by ARSN. With regard to ARSN's demands related to the company issuing the aforementioned statements related to human rights, a company representative continued to claim in the weeks following the meeting that the lawyers needed longer to examine the issues and that, realistically, it was unlikely that the company would make any public statements.

In sharp contrast, Dominion Energy, a utility company operating in New England that also imports Colombian coal from the Cerrejon Mine, quickly released a statement following its meeting with Jose Julio Perez in March. In its statement, Dominion stated: "We sympathize with the plight of Jose Julio Perez and his village. ... Dominion urges a just resolution to the issues." ARSN supplied a copy of this statement to NSP on 17 May in the hopes that it would inspire the company into issuing its own statement. Two weeks later, an NSP representative said that the company should have a statement ready by mid-June. That date came and went without any public statement and without any attempt by NSP to contact ARSN.

Despite the good faith exhibited by ARSN, it is now clear that NSP has little interest in seriously addressing the human rights issues related to Colombian coal. From the beginning, the company has used stalling tactics to delay meeting with ARSN and to avoid making any public statements related to the human rights issues raised by ARSN.

It is a sad day when an American corporation is more willing than a Canadian counterpart to openly speak out against human rights issues related to its operations. But NSP has made clear its unwillingness to seriously address the human rights issue and its lack of commitment to a meaningful dialogue with ARSN. As a result, Nova Scotia and Canada continue to be linked to human rights abuses in Colombia. Clearly, despite its PR efforts, NSP is still only concerned with the "price and quality" of the coal it imports.

On August 9th, there will be a mining conference in the Colombian city of Riohacha, near the Cerrejon Mine, which will address human rights issues related to coal mining. ARSN calls on NSP to issue a public statement and to send letters to Canada's ambassador in Colombia, the minister of Foreign Affairs, Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe and the Colombian ambassador to Canada demanding that all reasonable measures be taken to ensure the safety of all those participating in the conference.

ARSN hopes that the cynical position taken by NSP representatives during our negotiations does not reflect the personal opinions of Mr. Huskilson and Mr. Tedesco on this issue. If that is indeed true, then we call on you to personally meet with ARSN members. Meanwhile, the issuance of the aforementioned letter urging protection for conference participants would be the first significant step taken by NSP towards addressing these issues of great importance to Nova Scotians.

Sincerely,
The Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (ARSN)

Letters of support for participants in the 9 August 2006 mining conference in Riohacha, Colombia to be sent to the following:

Home | Announcements | Articles | Contacts | Copyright and Disclaimer | Events | Feedback | Forum | Honour Roll
Information | Links | Mail Room | Members | News | News Feeds | Newsletter | Our Voice | Subscribe | Your Privacy