Steve Rennie, THE CANADIAN PRESS

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OTTAWA - The federal government worries its embassy in Mexico City is a hot spot for demonstrations against Canadian mining companies, documents show.

Non-governmental organizations, local landowners and Mexican politicians are taking their gripes to the embassy's doorstep, says an internal briefing note prepared by Natural Resources Canada.

"In Mexico, we have witnessed in recent years an increasing collaboration of different interest groups with concerns (or agendas) surrounding Canadian mining operations in Mexico," the document says.

"Given the sheer number of Canadian mining companies operating in Mexico ... it is highly likely that the embassy will be increasingly implicated in disputes between mine activists and Canadian mining companies operating in Mexico."

The document, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, underscores the backlash Canadian mining companies face in Mexico.

Most foreign mining companies in Mexico are Canadian. The Mexican government says firms with Canadian head offices account for three-quarters of the foreign-owned mining companies in the country.

That makes the Canadian Embassy a target.

"The Canadian Embassy in Mexico City is being increasingly targeted by groups ... alleging that certain mines are engaging in irresponsible and-or illegal behaviour, as well as representatives of mining companies intent on defending their operations," the document says.

Local landowners, indigenous people and activists accuse companies of dubious mining practices. They say farmers have seen their businesses collapse because the mines parch rivers and aquifers.

Mining companies also get blamed for local health problems arising from water and air pollution. They likewise draw the ire of those who are displaced when mining companies set up shop in their communities.

So now activists are directing their ire at the countries where the mines' headquarters are based, said Catherine Coumans of Mining Watch Canada.

"I do think what we're starting to see is that the origins of these companies are being looked at," she said.

"Canada is really becoming a target."

No one from Natural Resources Canada was available Tuesday for an interview.

An appendix to the briefing note mentions a pair of demonstrations at the Canadian Embassy in 2007 against Metallica Resources, a Canadian company that merged last year with New Gold Inc. and Peak Gold Ltd.

The protesters claimed a mine in the village of Cerro San Pedro was poisoning the air and water with cyanide. They further alleged Metallica colluded with corrupt Mexican authorities to get around court rulings annulling the company's blast permits.

Those demonstrations, while large and noisy, ended peacefully - but the Natural Resources document warns others might not.

The number of Canadian companies that fall short of social responsibility standards is likely to grow as more mines move from the exploration to production phases of their operations, it says.

The Conservative government held a series of roundtables in 2006 on ways to ensure Canadian mining companies abroad stay socially responsible.

A subsequent report called for an independent ombudsman's office and a process for filing and investigating complaints. It also recommended Ottawa pull its support for firms that violate local and international standards.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Affairs Department said Ottawa announced a new corporate social responsibility policy earlier this year.

The policy created an office to resolve social and environmental disputes involving Canadian mining companies operating abroad, and it aims to promote good corporate practices.

"There is a limit to what companies can provide to support the social, health, environment and education concerns of the communities within which they operate," spokeswoman Me'shel Gulliver Belanger said in an email response to questions.

"Foreign governments are ultimately responsible for legislation that meets the needs of their citizens."