Ottawa's corporate-ethics watchdog says a Vancouver-based mining company has allowed forced labour to occur at its gold mine in the Xinjiang region of China, even though the firm lost control of the project before the alleged slavery took place.
"They don't have any evidence of us using forced labour … they extrapolate, but where is the hard evidence," Dynasty CEO Ivy Chong said in a lengthy interview."We tried to explain, but I think their mind was closed; the decision was made." A report that same year by Global Affairs Canada found China"is using otherwise legitimate programs for retraining and relocation of unemployed workers as instruments of a broader campaign of oppression, exploitation, and indoctrination of the Uyghur Muslim population into Han Chinese culture."
Yet Dynasty lost control of the mine in 2008. Chinese court filings cited in Tuesday's report show the public company had been unsuccessfully fighting the Chinese government to maintain ownership while repeatedly listing ownership of the mine in its corporate statements."Companies do not need to have operational control in order to be involved in human-rights abuse," Meyerhoffer said.
Chong said the finding is a blow to a company that has already spent years in Chinese courts trying to recuperate its investment. "The investigation did not uncover any evidence that Dynasty took steps to assess its potential involvement in Uyghur forced labour abuse at any point," the report reads.
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