Rio Tinto suffers another blow from Quebec courts
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Quebec Superior Court’s decision to dismiss a motion by Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) subsidiary and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador, which sought to remove the portion of the IOC's operations in Labrador from the Innu's lawsuit, was welcomed by the Innu First Nations of Uashat mak Mani-utenam and Matimekush-Lac John.
The court decided that Quebec courts have jurisdiction to hear the Innus’s entire claim for $900-million against IOC, and that they could thereby rule on their land claims on both sides of the Quebec-Labrador border.
"Rio Tinto and its IOC subsidiary are once again using every means to slow down the legal process with the aim of postponing the actual hearing on the merits of the case,” said Uashat mak Mani-utenam chief Mike McKenzie.
“This is our fourth victory in this case, and we're especially pleased that a judgment has finally demonstrated that our rights to our traditional territory, our Nitassinan, do not end at Canadian-imposed borders," he said.
McKenzie added that the decision reinforced their desire and resolve to see this process through to the end. “The company will have to face up to its actions and its systemic violation of our territory and our rights since the 1950s."
This is the fourth setback for IOC, after the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear an appeal by the company on October 15, 2015. This attempt to take the case to the Supreme Court followed the company's defeat before the Superior Court and the Quebec Court of Appeal.
At that time, IOC asked the courts to dismiss the proceedings against it, claiming that the Innu should take legal action against the government and not a private company.
"Rio Tinto (IOC) remains steadfast in unreasonably pursuing its rogue path rather than seeking to resolve a disgraceful chapter in its history. Several other mining companies are active and behaving like good corporate citizens in our territory and elsewhere in Canada. It is unfair to these companies that Rio Tinto continues to act as a bad corporate citizen," added McKenzie.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation