“Accumulation by Dispossession” by the Global Extractive Industry: The Case of Canada
Creators: name: Kinuthia, Wanyee
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2013
Subjects: natural resources
raw materials
global extractive industry
mining
accumulation by dispossession
primitive accumulation
resource curse
free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC)
consultation
free entry
Bill C-300
Omnibus Bill
self-determination
madaraka
multinational / transnational corporations
land grabs
governance gap
enforcement vacuum
regulatory gap
landlessness
involuntary resettlement
displacement
liberalization
financial markets
capitalism
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA)
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Impact and Benefits Agreement (IBA)
corporate social responsibility (CSR)
international political economy (IPE)
Washington Consensus
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)
sustainable development
rare earth
oil
fossil fuels
Whitehorse Mining Initiative (WMI)
foreign direct investment (FDI)
privatization
Canadian Centre for the Study of Resource Conflict (CCSRC)
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade (SCFAIT)
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD)
neoliberal / corporate globalization
Northern Gateway pipeline project
Ring of Fire
centre-periphery
metropolitan-hinterland
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Extractive Industries Review (EIR)
Sub-Saharan Africa
war on terror
terrorists
false flag terrorism
Fisheries Act
Navigable Waters Protection Act
primary goods
aid
Third World debt
free trade
modernization
dependency
tariffs
trade barriers
HudBay
home country liability
state
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)
Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC)
spatio-temporal fix
militarism
Sudbury
Atlantic Canada
Crown
neo-colonialism
industrial revolution
imperialism
public policy
democracy
justice
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Export Development Corporation (EDC)
Kimberley Process
International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM)
Mining Association of Canada
National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the Canadian Extractive Industry in Developing Countries
equity
austerity measures
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO)
Mining Act reforms
proletariat
aboriginal
Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
developing country
comparative advantage
human rights
export-led development
Tiomin
Government of Kenya
Government of Canada
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
World Bank Group (WBG)
World Trade Organization (WTO)
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
Bill C-38
Bill C-45
Assembly of First Nations (AFN)
Idle No More
meaningful participation
AFRICOM
titanium
Base Resources Australia
House of Commons
conditionalities
Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs)
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

description: This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.