Ongoing Projects

Challenging the Canadian Import of Goods Made Using Forced/Prison Labour in the US 

Clinic students will be building on open-source research and fieldwork in Alabama conducted by the IHRP with respect to prison labour practices in the US and potential links to Canadian supply chains. Clinic students will be working with advocates in the US to develop a multi-pronged advocacy strategy to challenge the import of goods made using forced and/or prison labour into Canada.

Accountability of a Canadian Company Operating in a Foreign Special Economic Zone  

Our clinic students are working with EarthRights International to examine the conduct of a Canadian company operating in a Special Economic Zone abroad. Students will be conducting a review of existing and potential environmental and human rights impacts connected to the company’s activities and work with the community to seek prevention of and accountability for human rights harms.    

Challenging Canadian Corporate Complicity in Human Rights Violations in Gaza 

The IHRP is collaborating with our partners at the Global Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School to do advocacy at the UN on Canadian military exports to Israel, implementing a coordinated international legal advocacy strategy to complement ongoing Canadian legal proceedings. Among other things, clinic students will be engaging in written and oral advocacy before the UN Human Rights Committee for its upcoming review of Canada under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 

Corporate Accountability for Indigenous Rights in Amazonas, Brazil

Our clinic students are working with the Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention Clinic at Cardozo Law School 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 and develop a multi-pronged strategy for promoting corporate accountability for harms. Clinic students are 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.  

Assessing the Human Rights Impacts of Mining Operations in the Ring of Fire

Our clinic students are working with the Anishnawbe Business Professionals Association (ABPA) to assess the human rights impacts of mining operations in the Ring of Fire on First Nations communities in Northern Ontario. In partnership with the Investor Protection Clinic at the Faculty of Law, students are conducting research on company and government engagements with affected First Nations communities in Treaty 9 territory and examining the impact of mining-related development on both procedural and substantive Indigenous rights under international law while considering the challenges of just transition.

Clinic students are also providing support to the plaintiffs of the Treaty 9 lawsuit against the federal and Ontario governments, challenging the interpretation and application of the treaty, particularly with respect to resource extraction and Indigenous co-jurisdiction over their territories.  

Challenging the Impact of a Transnational Pipeline

Our clinic students are working with Representatives of 51 Tribal and First Nations of Anishinaabe People to assist with their efforts to challenge the operation of a major transnational pipeline that carries crude oil and gas originating in Canada through Anishinaabe territories in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario. Advocates claim that every minute the pipeline continues to operate extends the likelihood of catastrophic oil spills along its route, threatening Indigenous territory, culture, and way of life, as well as precious freshwater bodies like the Great Lakes. 

It is alleged the Canadian government has ignored the dangers this pipeline poses and continues to shield the pipeline company from such challenges. 

Accountability of a Canadian Resource Extraction Company for Human Rights Abuses Abroad

Students will support, through legal research and analysis, an anticipated claim relating to serious human rights abuses alleged to have been committed by employees of a Canadian resource extraction company that operates abroad. The claim has the potential to progress corporate accountability by redressing the survivors in this case while setting a precedent for future harms to be remedied. 

Investigation Against a Canadian-based Mining Company

A Canadian oil and gas exploration company carrying out exploration drilling abroad has caught global attention and attracted accusations of disrupting key ecosystems. The company's operations are suspected to be harming the environment and violating the rights of local communities. Students will be working with a local community alliance dedicated to challenging the company's oil and gas exploration and drilling in the river basin to assist affected individuals and communities.

* Please Note: The IHRP only selects projects through referrals from NGOs. We do not provide legal services to individuals without a referral from an NGO.