Above Ground – A human rights and accountability project

Our Latest Work

Letter to Minister Ng: remedy harm caused by EDC-financed dam in Colombia

22 June 2020

Communities devastated by the Hidroituango dam in Colombia continue to seek accountability from the Canadian government, which financed the project in 2016 through its export bank. In this letter to Canada’s international trade minister, Above Ground and Amnesty International call on the government to ensure that the bank makes appropriate reparations and no longer supports such damaging projects.

Posted in Letters and Submissions

Expert report: proposed gold mine in Brazilian Amazon presents unacceptable risk

17 June 2020

An expert study reveals an unacceptable degree of risk that the tailings dam at Belo Sun’s proposed mine in the Brazilian Amazon will fail, contaminating the Xingu River and harming nearby indigenous and other communities.

Posted in Press Releases

Expert analysis lays out reforms for decarbonizing Canada’s export bank

15 June 2020

Canada has become the second-largest public financier of fossil fuels in the G20 due to the business carried out by its export bank. New research commissioned by Above Ground and Oil Change International identifies policy and legal reforms needed to reverse the trend and redirect the bank’s resources into low-carbon solutions.

Posted in Reports and Case Studies

Ottawa is bailing out the fossil fuel industry. Will Canadians be given a full accounting of the costs?

4 May 2020

Wealthy nations are called upon to ramp up their climate action plans in 2020. Instead, they’re bolstering the very industries that must be phased out to avert disastrous climate breakdown.

Posted in Blog

No bailout for oil and gas in response to COVID-19: a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau

25 March 2020

Academics and researchers including Above Ground staff urge the prime minister to abandon plans to bail out oil and gas firms, and instead align Canada’s economic recovery with its climate commitments.

Posted in Letters and Submissions

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A human rights and accountability project

Shedding light on the human rights and environmental impacts of Canadian business abroad. Advancing solutions for accountability and access to justice in Canada.

Responsible finance?

Canada's export bank says it's "protecting people and the environment." But it repeatedly finances firms accused of human rights abuse and corruption, while investing billions of dollars each year in business that's fuelling the climate crisis.

Multinationals on trial

To date, eight lawsuits alleging environmental or human rights abuse by extractive companies operating abroad have been filed in Canada. We explain each case and its legal implications.

Our Latest Work

Letter to Minister Ng: remedy harm caused by EDC-financed dam in Colombia

Expert report: proposed gold mine in Brazilian Amazon presents unacceptable risk

Expert analysis lays out reforms for decarbonizing Canada’s export bank

Ottawa is bailing out the fossil fuel industry. Will Canadians be given a full accounting of the costs?

No bailout for oil and gas in response to COVID-19: a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau

A human rights and accountability project

Shedding light on the human rights and environmental impacts of Canadian business abroad. Advancing solutions for accountability and access to justice in Canada.

Responsible finance?

Canada's export bank says it's "protecting people and the environment." But it repeatedly finances firms accused of human rights abuse and corruption, while investing billions of dollars each year in business that's fuelling the climate crisis.

Multinationals on trial

To date, eight lawsuits alleging environmental or human rights abuse by extractive companies operating abroad have been filed in Canada. We explain each case and its legal implications.

Our Latest Work

Letter to Minister Ng: remedy harm caused by EDC-financed dam in Colombia

Expert report: proposed gold mine in Brazilian Amazon presents unacceptable risk

Expert analysis lays out reforms for decarbonizing Canada’s export bank

Ottawa is bailing out the fossil fuel industry. Will Canadians be given a full accounting of the costs?

No bailout for oil and gas in response to COVID-19: a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau

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