Taking Canadian Mining to Court: The Effect of Transnational Lawsuits on Corporate Accountability

Abstract

Canadian mining companies have a significant presence in the global mining market, as their foreign subsidiaries comprise a large portion of international mining operations. However, the local community members and environmental rights defenders who oppose these mines are often victims of human rights violations committed by the subsidiary company. In this paper, the landmark case Choc v Hudbay Minerals is recognized as the first case successfully accepted in a Canadian court and analyzed to establish what legal maneuvers plaintiffs utilize when taking Canadian mining companies to court in Canada. Significant cases since Hudbay, including Garcia v Tahoe and Araya v Nevsun, are also discussed to portray how legal maneuvers have evolved to challenge jurisdictional barriers and incorporate novel torts into Canadian law. Discussion of these landmark cases highlights the challenges of transnational litigation, how settlements remain the de facto result of these lawsuits, and lastly, how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) codes and other voluntary mechanisms create governance gaps in the current regulatory framework. Analysis and discussion demonstrate how transnational litigation has effectively drawn attention to human rights violations occurring overseas, yet for this systemic issue to be solved and victims to receive justice, stringent enforcement mechanisms are necessary.