To say the least, much has transpired in the days following the Group of Seven Leaders (G7) signing a joint statement on June 16 in support of Israel’s right to defend itself and in opposition to Iran ever possessing a nuclear weapon.

While Israel and Iran dominated the G7 headlines, there were also notable joint agreements concerning artificial intelligence, migrant smuggling, transnational repression, quantum technologies, wildfire response and critical minerals.

Dean Dettloff, a research and advocacy officer for Development and Peace – Caritas Canada, noted the G7 minerals statement does recognize “the need for responsible extraction and ‘standards-based markets.’ ” However, he added that “without binding legislation compelling companies to do their due diligence with respect to the environment and human rights, plans like these will inevitably fail to safeguard people and the planet in the race for resources.”

Advertisement

Development and Peace – Caritas Canada, the international development and humanitarian aid agency of the Canadian bishops, arranged for Cardinal Pedro Barreto of Peru to speak at the G7 Jubilee People’s Forum that preceded the summit. The Jesuit prelate shared his experiences standing up against the practices of Doe Run, an American mining factory.

Not only did the G7 Jubilee People’s Forum, chiefly organized by KAIROS Canada, advocate the need to address the ecological debt the Global North has to the Global South, but attendees also pushed for low-income countries to be wiped clean of their debt in accordance with the Jubilee year.

Dettloff noticed that there was only a brief mention of this issue “buried within a small paragraph” in the minerals statement.

“We are pleased that G7 countries acknowledged the growing problem of debt and committed to supporting debt-distressed countries,” said Dettloff. “Yet there are no details about what this support means apart from strengthening the G20 Common Framework, a process favouring creditor interests that has not delivered timely or sufficient debt relief since 2020 when it was initiated.”                                                                   

Advertisement

The Mary Ward Centre was involved in promoting Barreto’s appearance at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish on June 9 before he headed west. The organization’s chief mission is combatting human trafficking and standing against migrant exploitation.

Eva Rodriguez-Diaz, the centre’s program manager of trafficking, migrants and refugees, reviewed the statement that included pledges to counter smuggling by utilizing technologies to follow the money, strengthening border capacities and collaborating with social media companies to disrupt online entrapment schemes.

Rodriguez-Diaz said the statement does show the “governments of the world are worried about the situation of growing migration to north countries from south countries” and that they are using the risk of smuggling and human trafficking “as motives to argue the situation.” She wondered why they “didn’t do this 15 years ago” or even earlier because “this is happening forever.”

She added that more needs to be done by the G7 countries to understand some of the economic activities that each is carrying out in the Global South that might be driving refugees north.

Canada’s response to the strong border promise in the joint statement is Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act. Proponents support that the bill gives law enforcement extra powers to disrupt criminality online and to intercept potential illicit materials transported by mail. Opponents decry the breaching of privacy rights and the lack of rights and security it affords Canadian newcomers.

The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking (CCEHT) came out on June 23 with a statement in opposition to the bill. CCEHT executive director Julia Drydyk stated that the stricter limits on in-country asylum claims and reduced access to immigration and refugee board reviews could imperil many migrants’ opportunities to secure legal status.

Advertisement

“Having temporary or precarious immigration status is by far the greatest risk factor to experiencing labour trafficking in Canada,” said Drydyk.

CCEHT did state that certain measures have the potential to strengthen Canada’s response to human trafficking. The organization endorses” better information-sharing on sex offenders and tougher penalties for non-compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.”