[News] Canadian Supreme Court Rules Against Chevron in Ecuador Case

[Anti-Imperialist News]

*Canadian Supreme Court Rules Against Chevron in Ecuador Case*

*http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Canadian-Supreme-Court-Rules-Against-Chevron-in-Ecuador-Case-20150904-0009.html*

Published 4 September 2015

The Supreme Court determined that Canada is an appropriate jurisdiction 
and victims of contamination can seek compensation from the oil company.

The Canadian Supreme Court ruled Friday that victims of the 
contamination caused by the Chevron oil company in Ecuador can seek 
compensation from Chevron in Canada.

In 2011 an Ecuadorean court found Chevron responsible for environmental 
contamination in the Ecuadorean Amazon and ordered the company to pay 
billions in compensation. A 2013 ruling by the Ecuadorean Supreme Court 
affirmed the lower court’s ruling and set the compensation at US$9.5 
billion.

However, Chevron has refused to pay and as a result the plaintiffs were 
forced to try to enforce the ruling by seeking the seizure of Chevron's 
assets in Canada. The decision by the Supreme Court affirmed that Canada 
is an appropriate jurisdiction for the case.

The case will now be transferred to a lower court.

The plaintiffs are indigenous Ecuadorean people from the Lago Agrio 
region. Contamination caused by the oil company in that part of the 
Amazon is estimated to involve over 80 times the amount of oil spilled 
in the infamous 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

Pablo Fajardo, the lawyer representing victims in Ecuador, responded on 
his Twitter account, saying, “The Supreme Court of Canada, unanimously 
delivers a forceful judgment against Chevron. We continue with more 
strength than ever.”

​Texaco, acquired by Chevron in 2001, conducted oil extraction in the 
Ecuadorean Amazon from 1964 to 1990, and dumped over 16 billion gallons 
of oil and toxic waste as a cost-saving measure.

There are 30,000 plaintiffs currently involved in the lawsuit against 
Chevron. The campaign against the oil company has drawn support from a 
wide-array of people, including famed human rights defender Rigoberta 
Menchu and indigenous peoples from throughout the continent.

-- 
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