On September 27th, Peter Julian, NDP Critic on International Trade and MP for Burnaby- New Westminster, hosted a conference entitled “Walking the Talk: Human Rights Abroad.” Activists, lawyers and politicians alike gathered at the House of Commons for a day-long series of panels exploring international violations of human and environmental rights at the hands of Canadian corporations. The conference was intended to show the importance of Peter Julian’s Private Member’s Bill: C-354 – an act to amend the Federal Courts Act in the interest of promoting and protecting human rights on an international level. The first panel of the day featured the voices and experiences of those in other parts of the world. Introductory Statements: Mark Rowlinson, United Steelworkers' Canadian National Office legal department Peter Julian, MP, Burnaby-New Westminster Rick Arnold, Common Frontiers Panelists: Tenzin Lobsang Wangkhang, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet Jose Luis Abarca Montejo, Mexican Network of Persons Affected by Mining Denis Tougas, Entraide missionnaire Bodia Macharia, Friends of the Congo An interview with Jose Luis Abarca Montejo is included in the recording, following his portion of the panel.
