Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much.
I'd like to begin by first explaining a little bit about our company. Clarke Educational Services is a first nations-based professional services firm that works with Canadian and Latin American indigenous communities, governments, and companies in developing inclusive businesses that promote the use of natural resources in a culturally appropriate and socially and environmentally responsible manner.
Our company has been working in Panama for approximately two and a half years and is made up of a skilled team of professionals who are working with the Ngöbe people, which is an indigenous group here, to advance the Cerro Colorado copper project in a socially inclusive and economically viable manner.
Our company is indigenous-rights focused. Under law 10, article 48 of Panamanian law, the Ngöbe people are to be informed and advised of, and are to participate in, all natural resource developments within the comarca territory. Cerro Colorado is a world-class copper project that has been identified on the traditional territory of the Ngöbe people.
The Ngöbe people represent approximately 10% of the Panamanian population, 160,000 of whom live within the comarca boundaries. The comarca itself is 650,000 hectares, and the Ngöbes in the comarca, according to the World Bank data, as well as our own observations, are among the poorest citizens of Panama. Some 90% lack basic necessities and are living on less than $2 per day.
Prior to our working and training in Ngöbe communities, our company conducted a series of meetings with communities located near the Cerro Colorado project area to determine whether or not the people would like to learn about responsible mining practices and the experiences of indigenous peoples from Canada with respect to mining and our relationships with Canada.
Also, our company studied the comarca law to ensure that our activities would be compliant with the national laws of Panama as well as the traditional customs of the Ngöbe people.
To date, we have worked and trained with approximately 2,000 Ngöbe people in the Cerro Colorado area. These are individual landowners and community people who live in the direct and indirect impact area of this potential copper mine development.
Our experience in Panama has given us insight into how business has been conducted in the comarca in the past. Usually business or development initiatives have been placed upon the people without their full consent, without being properly informed or advised, and without being integrated into these initiatives. It has always been our intention to respect local and national laws and to promote fair business practices and development in the region through informed and prior consent.
On the government side, there has been a long history of governments taking advantage of the lack of capacity that exists in the Ngöbe-Buglé comarca. In our opinion, creating additional and new trade with Panama through the FTA could lead to a lot of very positive perspectives. I have a list of some of the things that we believe would really assist here in terms of the way we see business being conducted.
Canadian business has a well-developed concept of CSR and of the implementation of high CSR standards, which could be introduced by Canadian companies doing business here in Panama, particularly in areas and regions where the concept is not practised or well developed. Of course, our experience has been in the Ngöbe-Buglé comarca, and we have seen that there has been very little CSR in different activities that have occurred there in the past. Cerra Colorado has a very long history. A number of Canadian companies in the past had worked there, but they really didn't involve the local people, nor did they keep the local people informed.
Canadian business, particularly in the resource sector, has a significant amount of experience in working with first nations people for common and mutual benefit. These experiences could be used as a competitive edge for Canadian companies interested in working with indigenous peoples here in Canada and throughout the region. Panama is also strategically located in the region, and with well-developed infrastructure, Panama is extremely business-friendly in comparison with a lot of its geographical neighbours. Panama could be a logical place for Canadian business wishing to engage in doing business regionally.
Canadian industry, in our experience, is generally well received by people in Panama, and particularly in the Ngöbe-Buglé comarca, and we believe this is the biggest case that supports the FTA. In the case of mining, this industry needs to be founded, established, and legitimized in Panama. For this, it's critical that we have examples of good company practices, strong institutions, and a culture of accountability. We believe there are a number of companies in Canada that are constantly striving towards these goals.
My colleague mentioned Inmet. Inmet has had some good experiences working with our first nations people in the province of Quebec. While I'm not totally familiar with everything Inmet does, I have followed them from time to time. We see them implementing a good level of CSR. We see them supporting communities. We see them informing the local population of their plans to advance their project. We believe we are doing exactly the same thing. Maybe we're doing a little more, because we are in the comarca, but we believe that we have been in compliance with the traditional as well as the national laws.
Thank you.