Crude Gold is a series of short documentaries showcasing 5 pivotal cases of foreign-funded mining exploitation connected to Canadian investors. This project is timely and urgent due to the violence experienced by activists, union leaders and indigenous peoples who are in resistance to profiled mining and petroleum extraction projects.   Every year in Colombia numerous union leaders, union activists and union members are assassinated. Similarly, human rights defenders are targeted, threatened and murdered in a fog of impunity and unanswered questions.   The overwhelming majority of crimes and human rights violations related to the armed conflict are concentrated in regions with a major presence of mining investment. According to the Office of the Auditor General of Colombia, these regions are the scene of 78% of crimes against trade unionists and 89% of violations of Native peoples’ rights. Amidst this context, mining companies registered in the Toronto Stock Exchange continue to benefit from the violent and ongoing armed conflict in Colombia.   The videos explore foreign investment conflicts, and the role and impacts to trade union members in a country that is labelled as the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade unionist. Each story highlights local activists who are confronting injustice. These brave individuals engage in union resistance, demand justice for human rights violations and raise awareness for these important issues, often at great personal cost.Working in collaboration with members of McGill Research Group Investigating Canadian Mining in Latin America (MICLA) filming took place in the summer of 2014. All footage and interviews were filmed in the affected communities.   These short documentaries are related to the following companies: Eco Oro, Gran Colombia Gold, Talisman Energy, Occidental Petroleum, AngloGold Ashanti

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