Holding Fast for Bill C-300

Fasting is a spiritual practice that helps to attune ourselves to the Spirit.  Today I will not be eating any food to honour the 500 000 signatures of Canadians who over the last 3 years have put their names to the cause of human rights and environmental stewardship.  During our mining campaign, people spoke in churches, schools, street corners, and countless conferences and workshops, seeking to put an end to the Human Rights abuses and Environmental abuses of some Canadian Mining Companies operating in the Global South.  They met with over 120 MPs pleading for a legal mechanism to hold companies accountable. 

I fast today to honour the voice of Catholics and countless others, but also to pray.  Every hunger pang will focus my attention to a thousand stories my fieldwork on the mining campaign brought me to encounter.  Each one is a prayer for the passage of the Bill C-300.  As I write now, I think of Pedro Landa from Caritas Honduras, whom I accompanied on a speaking tour of my region.  Pedro and his wife melted their gold wedding rings, sold the gold and gave the money to the poor. Why? Because what Gold mining had done to his country meant that he could no longer see the ring as a symbol of the Sacramental marriage bond between him and his wife.

At home with my kids and Pedro Landa.

Why choose today to fast?  I fast today because on Parliament Hill this afternoon, MPs will have the 3rd reading vote on Bill C-300, the Responsible Mining bill put forward by Scarborough liberal MP John McKay.  Today the vision of solidarity with the countless people affected by companies carrying our flag can be democratically confirmed.  The people of Canada have sent a clear message, now it is time for those we have elected to hear our voice!

Yesterday I contacted key liberal MPs and asked them to sponsor my fast by voting in favour of the Bill. Today I am going to e-mail them all.  I am also asking any who have not already contacted their MP to sponsor me as well by calling your MP this morning at their constituency office on Parliament Hill.  Step 1) Find Out who your MP is. Step 2) Find out how the voted on C-300 at the 2nd Reading   Step 3) Contact your MP and ask them to vote in favour of Bill C-300 today!