Information Bulletin: Defending ourselves againts giants

Montreal, August 28th 2008

Greetings,

You are presently one of over 7000 individuals who have shown us your support concerning the lawsuits brought upon us by the Canadian mining corporations Barrick Gold and Banro, who are claiming 6 and 5 million Canadian dollars respectively, over the publication of Noir Canada : Pillage, corruption et criminalité en Afrique.

Many reputable media journals, such as Le Monde, Le Monde diplomatique, Le Devoir, À Bâbord and France Culture, have declared that Noir Canada was a necessary book. To consult the new section « press review/revue de presse » on our web site click here:
http://slapp.ecosociete.org/fr/revue_de_presse.

For the first time since they face prosecution, the authors of Noir Canada have reacted publicly in writing with a text titled: Noir Canada: le test de la démocratie canadienne. This article was published in the August 23rd and 24th edition of the newspaper Le Devoir. To read this text, you may click on: http://slapp.ecosociete.org/fr/node/9199.

Legal news: defending ourselves against giants

One of the prejudicial effects of theses SLAPP suits is to divert us from our main mission - publishing books of public interest and, in this precise case, provoking a debate on Canada’s responsibility in the pillaging of Africa- by mobilizing all of our financial and human resources to ensure our defense.

Throughout the summer, the Écosociété team and authors of Noir Canada have worked flat out to produce a document in defense consisting of many hundred pages that was submitted in Court on August 21st, as part of the trial against Barrick. This document demonstrates the credibility and the abundant presence of sources that underlie the book’s thesis, as well as the legitimacy and seriousness of our authors’ and editors’ approach.

As for Banro, they have recognized our right to defend ourselves in court, but may demand in advance the court fees that would be owed if we were to lose, which would most likely bring us to immediate bankruptcy.

Help us continue our fight!

We remain in need of your help in this battle for the right to information and for freedom of expression. Although we benefit from a large network of support and a team of voluntary legal workers, your financial support is important to help cover the diverse costs caused by this type of legal pursuit (for example : photocopies, postal deliveries, traveling expenses, long-distance calls, expert fees, court fees, legal fees, etc.) THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

To make a donation to the Écosociété editions, click here : http://slapp.ecosociete.org/en/node/31

You can also:

1. Widely distribute this news bulletin by sending it to all of your contacts and inviting them to sign the support petition: http://slapp.ecosociete.org/en/node/add/signature.
2. Buy the book Noir Canada: http://www.ecosociete.org/.
3. Invite a representative of Écosociété and/or the authors of Noir Canada as part of your activities/events to present the book Noir Canada, to address the issue of the pillaging that is taking place in Africa by Canadian companies, to tackle the matter of SLAPP suits or simply to organize a sales and information booth.

Support

Among the public figures that support Écosocitété in their battle for the freedom of expression: Noam Chomsky, Richard Desjardins, Frédéric Back, Avi Lewis, Hubert Reeves, Laure Waridel and Naomi Klein.

Over 200 organisations have also showed us their support, such as the Council of Canadians, l’Alliance des Éditeurs Indépendants (international network of 70 editors of 40 different nationalities), l’Association des libraires du Québec, la Centrale des Syndicats du Québec (CSQ), the Canadian Labor Congress (CLC), le Conseil Central du Montréal Métropolitain (CSN), la Fédération des Travailleuses et Travailleurs du Québec (FTQ), as well as l’Union des écrivains et écrivaines québécois (UNEQ).

For an exhaustive list of people and organisations who support us, you may visit our web site : http://slapp.ecosociete.org/.

An answer for Lagacé

In the edition of La Presse published on June 21st, Patrick Lagacé wrote a very insidious article about the book Noir Canada, in which he misses the true point of our debate –the attitude of the Canadian mining industry in Africa. La Presse had the courtesy of publishing a shortened version (500 words) of the authors’ reply in the July 15th edition.

Nevertheless, we believe that it is essential to broadcast the complete response (long version of 1400 words) written by the Noir Canada authors. You may read this article at the following address: http://slapp.ecosociete.org/fr/node/8464.

A film to look out for: « Mirages d’un Eldorado »

Mirage of El Dorado (Productions Multi-Mondes) leads us far into the Andes of northern Chile, where a pitched battle takes place between a farming community and Canadian mining giants like Barrick Gold and its Pascua Lama project. The good, the bad and the powerful play for keeps in our political cowboy flick where radically different views of development collide.

Mirages d’un Eldorado will be presented at the Cinéma du Parc of Montreal from October 3rd to 9th.

To see the movie trailer, click here: http://pmm.qc.ca/eldorado/fr/accueil.php

LES ÉDITIONS ÉCOSOCIÉTÉ THANKS YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Anne-Marie Voisard
Éditions Écosociété
C.P. 32052, Comptoir Saint-André
Montréal (Québec) H2L 4Y5
Phone: (514) 521-0913
Fax: (514) 521-1283
Email: amvoisard@ecosociete.org