The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that indigenous leaders and environmental advocates have launched a co-ordinated campaign drawing attention to Canadian companies operating in the Amazon region and raising questions about their environmental and human rights record. The Globe's Tavia Grant writes that in August, ahead of a UN human rights review of Canada, a delegation of indigenous leaders, lawyers, community representatives and advocates from Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, to deliver a message to the international community. Lorena Curuaia, a member of the delegation and part of the Iawa community in northern Brazil, told The Globe that Canada is not fulfilling its obligations to ensure indigenous rights are respected and the environment protected when it comes to oversight of Canadian companies abroad. The companies cited in the UN submission include Frontera Energy in northern Peru, which incurred 33 environmental fines related to oil spills in the time it operated there. In a written response to questions, Frontera said it is honouring its contractual commitments and will continue to comply with its outstanding social and environmental obligations.
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