"Barrick fights to dismiss Tanzanian abuse allegations from Canadian court", 16 October 2024

Barrick Gold ... is arguing in an Ontario court that allegations of human rights abuses in Tanzania should be decided in that country instead, with local police and a subsidiary of the Toronto-based major as defendants.

“The plaintiffs are engaging in a classic case of forum-shopping: deliberately seeking to implicate Barrick in a case in Ontario,” a spokesperson for Barrick ... told ... “The right forum to consider the claims of the plaintiffs is Tanzania.”

Barrick, the second-biggest gold miner by market value, could face a civil trial seeking unspecified damages for 32 Tanzanians living near North Mara in the East African country. They’re backed by Toronto law firm Waddell Phillips, Vancouver’s CFM Lawyers and anti-mining groups such as the Ottawa-based MiningWatch Canada...

The Ontario Superior Court in Toronto is hearing Barrick’s arguments this week to permanently stay or dismiss the case. Part of the miner’s stance is that Tanzania, like Canada, has a legal system based on UK law. The case also has witnesses who speak Swahili or other local languages but not English.

However, Barrick’s legal team could encounter some precedents from lawsuits against Hudbay Minerals...The same Ontario court in 2013 allowed cases brought by indigenous Guatemalans to proceed. They sought damages from the Canadian mining company for alleged human rights abuses including a killing...

Company watchdogs, including the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability and the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project, want Canada to pass tougher due diligence legislation that might prevent violence and target actions abroad by Canadian operations.

“This lawsuit is a critical step toward properly adjudicating the claims of the Kuria people, Professor Sara Ghebremusse of the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project, said... “We hope this case will significantly advance the law governing access to judicial remedy for communities affected by Canadian mining operations abroad.”...