Vol. 72/No. 18      May 5, 2008

Written by Alain Deneault in collaboration with Delphine Abadie and William Sacher, Noir Canada is a detailed and well-documented exposé of the role of Canadian mining companies in Africa. The book’s back cover says, “Canada politically and economically supports Canadian mining and oil companies that exploit the African soil, pocket huge profits, especially at the Toronto Stock Market, while they are guilty of the worst abuses in Africa.” The book “eloquently demonstrates that Canada is far from being this ‘friend of Africa’ that it claims to be.”

On April 10, the evening before the announced launching of the book, écosociété received a formal notice by a law firm representing Barrick Gold, the biggest gold producer in the world, with 27 operating mines on four continents. Barrick Gold threatened the publishing house, its board members, and the book’s authors with a lawsuit “if écosociété goes ahead with the launching scheduled for April 11 and distributes even a single copy” of the book. Barrick objects to a section in Noir Canada about the company’s involvement in the deaths of 52 Tanzanian miners in 1996.

That evening, écosociété suspended the launching of the book, attended by some 75 people. After meeting with its board and the authors, it announced April 14 that it had decided to publish the book despite Barrick’s threats.

The fight has received significant coverage in the media here. Ressources d’Afrique and écosociété have launched a campaign to publicize the case. Messages of support can be sent to contact@ressourcesdafrique.org.  
 
 
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