IHRP Clinic Project: Addressing the Corporate Accountability Gap for Canadian Mining Companies Operating Abroad

By: Jeffrey Ma (3L)

Two months ago, Julie Dabrusin, Canada’s environment and climate change minister, spoke at the COP30 climate conference in Belém, Brazil. In her speech, Dabrusin affirmed Canada’s pledge to take “meaningful action to implement the Paris Agreement by working in partnership with Indigenous peoples.” Despite rehashing lofty platitudes about Canada’s commitment to supporting Indigenous peoples and highlighting their “vital leadership and contribution,” Dabrusin was conspicuously silent on one pressing issue: the thousands of actual Indigenous peoples and supporters, mere metres outside, protesting the continued exploitation and destruction of their lands for the expansion of natural resource extraction projects.

Back home, the contrast between official rhetoric and government policy has also become increasingly stark. The Canadian government under Prime Minister Mark Carney has signalled a realignment toward strategies such as “climate competitiveness” which have, in reality, provided cover for considerable climate policy backsliding, such as scrapping the consumer carbon price and suspending the electric vehicle sales mandate, alongside a renewed commitment towards the development of extractive “major projects” related to mining, oil, and natural gas.  

To this end, Dabrusin’s presence at COP30 proved to be yet another example of this broader shift away from fulfilling Canada’s environmental responsibilities. However, the turmoil around this year’s summit also made the international dimension of Canada’s climate hypocrisy painfully clear: even as Canada proclaims solidarity with Indigenous peoples, poorly regulated Canadian companies operating in Brazil are among the key contributors to the destructive practices that drew thousands of Indigenous people to protest in Belém.

The IHRP’s Corporate Accountability Project for Indigenous Rights in Amazonas, Brazil

As a student with the University’s International Human Rights Program (IHRP) Clinic over the past semester, I have had the privilege of working alongside the Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention Clinic at Cardozo School of Law and the Human Rights Clinic at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil to investigate the human rights and environmental impacts of Canadian mining in the Brazilian Amazon. Our work is ongoing and focuses on developing a multi-pronged strategy for promoting corporate accountability for harms committed by Canadian companies against Indigenous communities. This has included working directly with affected Indigenous communities and local civil society organizations in Brazil to challenge mining efforts in the region and advance a collaborative strategy that engages international, regional, and domestic accountability mechanisms. 

While it has been an honour to work alongside passionate community members and their allies, my experience has also been an important reminder of the grave impacts of Canadian companies acting abroad. Although our team has been working towards advancing accountability alongside our community partners, it is crucial to recognize the broader, systemic nature of the corporate accountability gap.

The Corporate Accountability Gap: Canada’s Role in International Human Rights Violations Perpetrated by Mining Companies Abroad

Despite our modest size, around 60 percent of the world’s mining companies are headquartered in Canada. In line with cynical expectations, many of these companies have been accused of pernicious actions abroad, including human rights violations and rampant environmental destruction. Thus far, the capacity and willingness of the Canadian government to prosecute these well-documented incidents have been woefully inadequate, with no existing legislation providing an avenue to hold Canadian companies accountable for abuses they commit abroad. To the contrary, past reporting on disastrous projects such as Vancouver-based First Quantum Minerals’ open-pit copper mine in Panama has revealed high-level support from the federal government.

What, then, is the upside? What do we, as Canadians, stand to gain from our government turning a blind eye to these human rights and environmental violations committed under our flag? One would not be faulted for assuming that, surely, these companies have purchased the complicity of our politicians through the promise of hefty tax revenue, at the very least. On the contrary, numerous investigative reports over the past decade have unveiled the sophisticated strategies Canadian mining companies have employed to avoid domestic tax liability, including “complex network[s] of tax haven subsidiaries” and taking advantage of “flow-through share donations” to charities.

When it comes to this pattern of predatory behaviour, the actions of Canadian mining companies in Brazil have proven to be no exception. Take, for example, the ongoing dispute over Toronto-based Belo Sun Mining Corp’s 2,400-hectare open-pit gold mine in Brazil’s Pará region. Despite claiming to have complied with relevant Brazilian laws and regulations, Belo Sun’s operations have been repeatedly faced with legal challenges from public authorities and local Indigenous communities, who have provided substantial testimony to the contrary. According to experts and local Indigenous leaders, Belo Sun has failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of the proposed project, which has the potential to contribute to the “ecogenocide” of the surrounding environment and the Indigenous communities who live within it. 

Belo Sun’s treatment of Indigenous communities has already drawn international criticism, including from the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights defenders. Allegations span from coercive and rushed consultation proceedings, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, to the employment of lawfare in an attempt to criminally prosecute peaceful protestors. According to UN experts, the failure of the Canadian government to hold Belo Sun accountable has only further reinforced Canada’s internationally “poor reputation.” 

Another Toronto-based mining company, Brazil Potash, has similarly landed in hot water over its Autazes mining project. For the better half of a decade, Brazil Potash has been embroiled in a series of legal battles with federal authorities and local Indigenous communities who allege a litany of misconduct stemming from a contentious “consultation” process, including coercive land grabs, threats against community members, and the co-opting of local Indigenous leaders. Despite the ongoing complaints by the local Mura community regarding unsanctioned intrusions into their traditional territory and the lack of meaningful dialogue, Brazil Potash has charged forward with its plan to construct the Autazes mine. While local communities have sought to bring national attention to their plight, reporting has emerged regarding Brazil Potash’s complex political lobbying operation, which has included meeting with the former Brazilian Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias in Ottawa. Beyond Brazil, the Mura community has also sought international scrutiny, denouncing the predatory actions of Brazil Potash during the recent 56th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. However, when it comes to the Canadian government, under whose jurisdiction Brazil Potash operates, all the Mura have heard in response is deafening silence.

Reflections

As we have continued to work on the IHRP’s Corporate Accountability project, I have been humbled by the tireless work and passion of my clinic partners, our partner institutions, and the affected communities who have generously given us their time and confidence. 

Nevertheless, I have also been reminded that for these efforts to precipitate systemic change, our policymakers and regulators must make similar efforts. If our government is genuine in their commitment to supporting Indigenous peoples and reaffirming Canada’s leadership in the global fight against climate change, more than empty words are required. What is needed is bold leadership and initiative in holding Canadian corporations, like Brazil Potash and Belo Sun to account. Unfortunately, thus far, true leadership of this kind has been absent.