Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
General material designation
- Textual record
- Graphic material
- Sound recording
- Moving images
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Reference code
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
[ca. 1964]-1994 (Creation)
- Creator
- Latin American Working Group
Physical description area
Physical description
ca. 7.1 m of textual records and other material
ca. 203 audio cassettes
ca. 24 audio reels
ca. 13 video cassettes
ca. 4800 slides
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Latin American Working Group (LAWG) was an independent, grassroots organization in Toronto, Canada, which carried out Canadian-Latin American solidarity activities from 1966-1997. Formed in response to the military coup and invasion of the Dominican Republic by the United States of America in 1965, LAWG's mission was to educate Canadians, develop solidarity links between Canadians and the peoples of Latin America, and advocate for an independent Canadian foreign policy. LAWG carried out activist research regarding the roles played by Canadian corporations and government aid policies in Latin America by working closely with union, churches, non-governmental organizations and academics in the North and the South hemispheres committed to human rights and social justice. It contributed to the creation and work of the Taskforce on Churches and Corporate Responsibility, the Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA), the Central American Policy Alternatives (CAPA), the Roundtable for Peace, Mission for Peace, Canada-Chile Solidarity, Tools for Peace, Linking Ontario and Central American in Labour Solidarity (LOCALS), Common Frontiers, and other initiatives aimed at changing Canadian foreign policy. LAWG worked with several Canadian trade union humanity and social justice funds to facilitate north-south educational tours involving workers, teachers, Christians, health workers, and those from other sectors, as a way of deepening Canadians' understanding of, and mutual solidarity with, others living in this hemisphere. LAWG worked to provide insights into the reality of Latin America that it felt was not being provided by either the Canadian government nor mainstream media. Its first-hand information and primary research was published in its newsletter "the LAWG letter," "the Central America update," "LAWG labour report," and several books critically examining the role of Canadian corporations such as Falconbridge and INCO in Latin America. Over its 30 year existence, LAWG played a significant role in influencing Canadian public opinion, and that of churches, trade unions, and government policy-makers in relationship to Latin America. There is no connection between this group and the group with the same name in the United States.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The fonds consists of meeting minutes, quarterly and annual reports, financial records, fundraising files, correspondence files (including with social activists in Canada and in other countries), documentation of advocacy work (including with trade unions, churches and religious groups, and other non-government organizations (NGOs)), oral histories and interviews, newsletters, slide presentations, press releases, brochures, research material such as news clippings and reports (including research on Canadian corporations), publications and reference library materials related to the activities of the Latin American Working Group.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Deposited by LAWG in 2004 and donated in 2005.
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
- Spanish
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Access is open.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
See also the records of the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC), (F38).
The RCMP files relating to LAWG have been transferred to Library and Archives Canada.
Accruals
The fonds comprises the following accessions: 2004-016. No further accruals are expected.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Control area
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
2004/08/10 Sean Smith. Created.
2012/06/27 S. Dubeau. Added authorized provenance and subject access points; immediate source of acquisition; biographical sketch.
2012/06/27 A. St. Onge. Updated biographic sketch based on article from former member available at http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=4636. Added statement about access restrictions.
2015/08/12 S. Dubeau. Corrected creation dates and added extent info.
2015/09/17 S. Dubeau. Finalized description.
2019/06/13 KCP. Migrated from EES. Uploaded legacy file inventory as a PDF document.