Canada and Congo share similar problems when it comes to the impact the extractive industry has on Human Rights. Canada is still struggling to ensure that Indigenous people’s rights are fully met and respected, notwithstanding the recent approval of specific laws (UNDRIPA Act) to align the legal framework with what is established in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). In Congo, as it was during the ‘direct’ colonial era, the people’s rights, dignity, and the environment on which the livelihoods of many depend continue to be destroyed. The market-driven economy has created dependency in both countries. In Congo, people work for almost nothing (US$1/day) in the mining sector, with artisanal mining being the only option for many. In Canada, many Indigenous communities(e.g. First Nation Bands) receive jobs and money (through Benefit Sharing Agreements) from Multinational Corporations. In both countries, extractivism has created a condition of dependency on the sector, as people need the jobs industries create to be able to live in such an industrial society, where living off the land and in a mixed economy is no longer possible. In such contexts, we make two arguments: First, the market-driven economy exacerbates disparities while perpetuating human rights violations, environmental destruction, and neo-colonial approaches to geopolitical-related issues. Second, the Green Transition and the resources many Western countries require to decarbonize their economy and meet their environmental goals risk becoming neo-colonial modes of destruction and dispossession. The key questions driving this paper include: How can the Western world meet its ‘clean’ /’green’ goals if this means having dirty hands when it comes to respecting basic human rights?How is the ‘clean’ transition feasible when communities and the environment are destroyed in the name of profit? Is it possible to change the extractivism logic while envisioning a different future?