How Courts are Leading Change for Mining Law in BC with International Standards

Bell, Peter (2025): How Courts are Leading Change for Mining Law in BC with International Standards.

Abstract

Mining is a global industry where jurisdictions are endowed with different amounts of natural resources and then create institutional frameworks to regulate the extraction of their endowment by local or global entities. As metal prices reach all-time highs, there is more competition than ever among different jurisdictions to attract global investment and encourage local business development based on all aspects of mining. However, there is also an increase in the prevalence of international legal frameworks to create minimum standards for mining. For example, the province of British Columbia in Canada created a new law in 2019 that was used by the courts in 2023 to force the executive branch to make changes that the legislative branch was already working on to roll out in 2027. This article details the ongoing story of BC, where different branches of government interact with each other in new ways based on provincial laws that implement an international framework.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Mining, BC, Canada, First Nations, Indigenous Peoples, United Nations, Taxes, Law, Institutions
• Subjects: B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches; B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches > B52 - Institutional ; Evolutionary; D - Microeconomics > D3 - Distribution; D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making; D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D79 - Other; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E6 - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E6 - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook > E65 - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes; F - International Economics > F2 - International Factor Movements and International Business; F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy; F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy > F53 - International Agreements and Observance ; International Organizations; G - Financial Economics > G3 - Corporate Finance and Governance; G - Financial Economics > G3 - Corporate Finance and Governance > G38 - Government Policy and Regulation; H - Public Economics > H1 - Structure and Scope of Government; H - Public Economics > H1 - Structure and Scope of Government > H13 - Economics of Eminent Domain ; Expropriation ; Nationalization; H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue; H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue > H25 - Business Taxes and Subsidies; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations; K - Law and Economics > K0 - General; K - Law and Economics > K2 - Regulation and Business Law; K - Law and Economics > K2 - Regulation and Business Law > K23 - Regulated Industries and Administrative Law; K - Law and Economics > K3 - Other Substantive Areas of Law; L - Industrial Organization > L3 - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise; L - Industrial Organization > L3 - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise > L32 - Public Enterprises ; Public-Private Enterprises; L - Industrial Organization > L5 - Regulation and Industrial Policy; L - Industrial Organization > L5 - Regulation and Industrial Policy > L51 - Economics of Regulation; L - Industrial Organization > L6 - Industry Studies: Manufacturing; L - Industrial Organization > L6 - Industry Studies: Manufacturing > L61 - Metals and Metal Products ; Cement ; Glass ; Ceramics; L - Industrial Organization > L7 - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction; L - Industrial Organization > L7 - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction > L72 - Mining, Extraction, and Refining: Other Nonrenewable Resources; N - Economic History > N5 - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O2 - Development Planning and Policy; P - Economic Systems > P1 - Capitalist Systems; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q3 - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q3 - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation > Q32 - Exhaustible Resources and Economic Development; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q3 - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation > Q33 - Resource Booms; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics

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