The National Council of Latin American and Caribbean Women in Canada (Latin@s)
latinas.canada@gmail.com


We declare the following with respect to the event on November 23,2010 to celebrate the supposed leaders of the Spanish speaking community in Canada:

(1) First. We categorically reject the term "Hispanic- Canadian". We speak Spanish but we are Latin Americans. The term Hispanic automatically eliminates all of us who have ancestors of indigenous or black background that is, the mixed heritage of the immense majority of Latin Americans. But even if we did not have one single drop of that blood, we reject the term Hispanic because it is exclusive and offensive to our indigenous peoples of today.

(2) Second. These 10 people supposedly the most influential in our community, have been selected by newspapermen and executives of the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance, CBC, Fundación Canadiense para las Americas-FOCAL, Canadian Hispanic Congress, Hispanic Press Association of Canada, and past winners. THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE SELECTING THE LEADERS ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVES OF OUR COMMUNITY. We do not know how the winners are chosen, what method is used to select them, but we do know that our community has not been consulted in any way that could be called representative. What a disgrace, what shame that organizations so distant to our culture, history, politics and daily life now take upon themselves the right to choose our supposed leaders! The Hispanic Congress can in no way be considered representative of our community. Of the Hispanic Press Association, we can only say that it shines in irrelevance in every way. For example, we have not seen it act to remedy the fact that scarcely a newspaper or media in Canada has permanent reporters in Latin America practically all the news that arrives here is through the large press agencies of the United States. How then can the Globe And Mail and the Toronto Star be permitted to participate in this event when their reporting of Latin American news is so incredibly deficient?

(3) Third. We know that corporations participate in this event as sponsors, among them Barrick Gold, a mining company of questionable social and environmental ethics, with a background of political intervention against the sovereignty of Latin American governments and that threatens our indigenous peoples. The participation of Barrick Gold in this event is, if not an insult, a very bad joke.

(4) Fourth. The actions of the government of Mr. Harper within the OAS has been deplorable browbeating that organization in opposition to the governments of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and to the ALBA organization in numerous occasions. If Canada could have had once within the OAS the role of "honest broker", under the Conservative government of Mr. Harper, that possibility has been lost because it has backed almost every bullying maneuver of the United States. Furthermore, the government of Mr. Harper has just rejected the proposed Bill C-300 that would have obliged Canadian mining companies to respect Human Rights and the environment in our countries of origin where Canadian mining companies have caused enormous suffering and destruction of Nature.To include one of the mining companies with the worst record and reputation in an event such as this is completely counter-productive and aberrant.

(5) Five. We have no interest at all in collaborating with any ceremony that would legitimize the policies of the Conservative government towards Latin America, that would back in some way Canadian mining companies in Latin America, or that would give the impression to the two largest newspapers in Canada that they are doing a good job reporting Latin American events.

National Council of Latin American and Caribbean Women in Canada (Latin@s)

Consejo Nacional de Mujeres Latinoamericanas y Caribeñas en Canadá (Latin@s)