Come Clean On Blood Coal
On March 22nd, 2008, Adolfo Gonzalez Montes, was murdered. He was a worker at the Cerrejon Coal Mine in Colombia, and also a union leader with the National Union of Coal Mine Workers. He left behind a wife and four children.
Montes is one of 2510 union officials who have been killed or have
disappeared in Colombia in the last ten years. Many others continue to
be watched and harassed on a regular basis.
What connection does Adolfo Gonzalez Montes have to do with New Brunswick?
N.B. Power generates 16% of its electricity using coal from the huge, open pit mine at Cerrejon.
As citizens of this province, we should be able to expect that our government would only purchase goods from companies and countries that can stand behind their records when it comes to human rights.
No one should have to suffer through the needless deaths and harassment that the Colombian workers have been subjected to. Our province needs to adopt an ethical purchasing policy that puts human rights and fair trade first, every time.
