Linking Societal Injustice and Legalization: Potential of Canadian Class Actions in Addressing International Human Rights Violations Committed By Canadian Corporations Abroad

• Author: Terra Duchene
• Pages: 5-35

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Linking Societal Injustice and Legalization: Potential

of Canadian Class Actions in Addressing International

Human Rights Violations Committed by Canadian

Corporations Abroad

Terra Duchene

AbstrAct: Class actions are increasingly being used in some countries’

jurisdictions as a vehicle to address human rights violations committed

by corporations abroad, including violations of workers’ rights and harm

of foreign nationals. Class actions in Canada, however, provide limited

redress in such circumstances. Without such redress in Canada, it will

remain impossible to hold transnational corporations incorporated in

Canada accountable for the violation of international treaties or Cus-

tomary International Law. In the f‌irst part of this paper I outline the cur-

rent state of international human rights class actions in Canada. After

discussing two cases that provide insight into the limitations of class

actions as a mechanism for addressing human rights violations abroad,

I discuss the potential causes of those limitations: jurisdictional issues,

the corporate veil, and remedies. I argue that while human rights class

actions are particularly unattractive to class counsel because of the afore-

mentioned limitations, Canadian class actions regimes can be altered to

address this shortfall and better assist those seeking justice for human

rights violations abroad. The Canadian class actions regime and broader

legal system can better provide access to justice for people who have

experienced human rights violations abroad — through law reform that

facilitates human rights cases coming before Canadian courts, amend-

ments to current class actions legislation, and institutional changes.

This paper explores how class actions can be part of the pursuit to hold

accountable the entities committing human rights violations abroad.

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