As we reported last month, Indian police in the state of Tamil Nadu recently shot and killed 13 people who were protesting pollution from a copper smelter owned by Vedanta Limited, a client of Export Development Canada (EDC). The Sterlite copper smelter has been repeatedly shut down for breaches of environmental regulations. State authorities have now ordered the permanent closure of the facility, following months of continuous protests that saw tens of thousands of citizens take to the streets.
In this letter, we seek answers from EDC’s president and CEO Benoit Daignault regarding the agency’s response to the shootings and the harms caused by its client’s operations.
August 17 update:
We have received this letter of reply from EDC.