Large crowd blocks downtown street in protest against mining industry convention – by Muriel Draaisma (CBC News – March 1, 2020)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/

Protesters rally outside convention of Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada

About 200 people took over a downtown street on Sunday afternoon to protest against an annual mining industry convention in Toronto.

As police officers watched, the protesters rallied on Front Street outside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where delegates had gathered for the opening day of the convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

The protesters held banners, chanted “Shame!” and listened to speakers condemn Canadian mining industry companies for allegedly violating human rights and environmental laws in countries outside Canada in which they operate.

“I think, every day, the ecological crisis gets worse,” Kirsten Francescone, a member of MiningWatch Canada, told reporters as the rally got underway.

“We definitely cannot think that more destructive mines that violate human rights and destroy people’s environments is our way out of that ecological crisis. I am really concerned that the mining industry is using this space to say that we need mining to save us from climate change. We’re here to say that shouldn’t be the case,” she added. “We want other kinds of ways forward for a better future for all of us.”

For the rest of this article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/protest-front-street-pdac-mining-industry-convention-toronto-1.5481698