Canadian Mining Companies and Domestic Law Reform: A Critical Legal Account*

Abstract

In the last decade, Canada has become the most important home jurisdiction for mining companies operating globally. Certain Canadian NGOs, faith groups and labor unions argue that these activities systematically give rise to conflicts between companies and local communities in circumstances where companies frequently enjoy effective impunity for the human rights violations they may commit. This assessment has prompted these groups and other likeminded actors to advocate for a series of law reform proposals.

Canadian mining and ill health in Latin America: a call to action

“…Bill C-300, narrowly defeated in 2010, would have required Canadian mining companies to abide by international human rights and environmental standards; this is the closest that Canada has come to comprehensive legislative reform to regulate the mining industry abroad (McKay 2009). Indeed, the Canadian government has, since 2005, consistently resisted legislative reform, opting instead to promote voluntary "corporate social responsibility" measures (Kamphuis 2012). In January 2018, Global Affairs Canada announced a Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise with the power to publicly investigate mining-related conflicts and recommend penalties for Canadian mining companies (Global Affairs Canada 2018).…”

Mining as Canadian Nation-Building: Contentious Citizenship Regimes on the Move

“…Indeed, in 2013 metallic minerals accounted for 18 per cent of CDIA (Tremblay 2014), indicating the global expansion of mining firms (Klassen 2014). In regards to Canadian markets, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) facilitate 90 per cent of global equity financing for mining exploration and production with approximately half of the exploration projects facilitated by these exchanges located outside of Canada (Kamphuis 2012). 8 This type of policy retains investment in Canada and acts as an incentive for Canadians to invest in the mining industry (Dougherty 2013).…”

“…The most prominent state strategies outlining the role of corporations in the extractive industry include BCA (2009) and DBCW (2014). In travel, and through the practices of both Canadian technocrats and corporate citizens, the policies contribute to the neoliberal transformation of host nation resource policies by promoting a "radical embrace of volunteerism" (Kamphuis 2012(Kamphuis : 1466 in which Canadian corporate citizens "manage social and environmental risks" (BCA 2009). This indicates the primary object of governance is not the corporate citizen involved in these nation-building activities, but the groups posing a threat to the mobility and accumulation of capital and minerals.…”

“…This indicates the primary object of governance is not the corporate citizen involved in these nation-building activities, but the groups posing a threat to the mobility and accumulation of capital and minerals. Framed in a different manner, Kamphuis (2012Kamphuis ( : 1481 notes that this policy perceives communities and the civil society actors working with them as risks needing to be managed. The risk manage-ment policy of BCA (2009) is expressed through the establishment of the Office of the Extractive Sector CSR Counsellor.…”

Knots That Strain and Threads That Bind: NGO-Grassroots Dynamics in the Movement Web Challenging Canadian Resource Extractivism

“…Although historically, Indigenous and individual communities have been affected by mineral and oil development in Canada and organized themselves in opposition, it has not been until the twenty-first century that a sustained social movement web began to take shape. The origins of the movement against mining in particular, for example, can be traced to early 2005-2006 when a coalition of NGOs, in the absence of grassroots groups organizing against the industry at this time, began to participate in national roundtables to bring about legal reform to Canada in light of increasing concerns about corporate abuses abroad (Kamphuis 2012). Grassroots groups eventually began to mushroom across the country to work on these issues -either on their own or in tandem with NGOs -and both sets of actors continue to collaborate in coalitions such as the Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability.…”