Extracting Justice: The human rights impact of Canadian mining around the world

Ideas53:59Extracting Justice: The Human Rights Impact of Canadian Mining

Canada is home to an estimated 60 percent of the world's mining companies. They operate in all corners of the globe, including countries where mining activities have been linked to human rights violations.

Up till now, making offending companies accountable in Canada is difficult. However, international human rights lawyerJames Yap is fighting to change that. He and his colleagues pursued a lawsuit on behalf of dozens of Eritrean plaintiffs who alleged they were forced to work at the Bisha gold mine in Eritrea owned by a Canadian mining company, Nevsun Resources. In the end, a settlement was reached for the workers.

James Yap delivered the 2023 Sir Graham Day Lecture in Ethics, Morality and the Law in February 2023. It was held at Dalhousie University's Schulich School of Law, in Halifax.

Here is an excerpt from his lecture.

When it comes to mining, Canada is a global superpower. It is estimated that 60 per cent of the world's mining companies are headquartered in Canada. The activity of ripping minerals and other resources from the Earth has three notable features: first, it is a highly complex and labour-intensive endeavour. Second, it causes massive disruption to the Earth and those living on it. Finally, it is capable of generating enormous wealth for those who stand to profit. For all these reasons, mining projects by their very nature are liable to cause bitter and highly contentious disputes that can result in allegations of serious human rights abuses.

When mining takes place in Canada, serious disputes and controversies definitely arise and I want to acknowledge that mining has also caused a lot of human rights and environmental harm in Canada and that indigenous peoples have borne the brunt of this. But in the relative sense, Canada does have strong laws and institutions that are reasonably effective at preventing at least the very worst kinds of abuses.

However, mining companies must operate wherever the mineral deposits they find are located, and much of the time that's not in Canada. Sometimes, it is in countries where there are much weaker laws. In some places, mining companies may have to work with a brutal repressive government, or navigate a violent conflict zone in order to operate a mine. In such cases mining companies are at a high risk of getting involved in some of the most severe human rights abuses out there this may include killings, torture, war crimes, or atrocities of similar gravity.

Canadian mining companies currently operate in all corners of the world. Regrettably, they've acquired a particularly bad reputation globally for causing serious human rights abuses. To make matters worse, in many of these places, it can be very hard if not impossible to hold a powerful multinational company accountable, so such companies escape justice.

However, efforts have been gaining momentum in recent years to try and hold these companies accountable at home in Canadian courts, suing companies right here where their headquarters are for human rights abuses that take place overseas. These lawsuits are enormously challenging and difficult, not least due to procedural avoidance tactics by companies.

When faced with the prospect of having their human rights records examined by impartial, independent Canadian courts, Canadian mining companies run like dogs from a vacuum cleaner. Canadian courts themselves have in the past been skeptical about hearing claims by foreign plaintiffs alleging human rights abuses against Canadian companies. However, despite a number of failed initial attempts, some of these claims have begun to have some modest success.

Even when successful, human rights claims against Canadian companies are extremely complicated and consume years of hard work. I know, because one of them swallowed up a good chunk of my early career as a lawyer. It involved a Canadian mining company called Nevsun based in B.C., and allegations of the use of slave labour at its Bisha gold mine in Eritrea.

I want to tell you the story of how a small group of dedicated lawyers of which I was only one managed to hold a multibillion-dollar mining company accountable in Canadian courts for complicity in modern-day slavery in Eritrea. I hope it will be a good story, and I hope it will illustrate some of the challenges in trying to make sure that Canadian mining companies respect human rights overseas, and what can be done about the problem.

*This episode was produced by Mary Lynk.