Social Disclosure and Share Value: Empirical Data on (Non-) Disclosure of Information Related to Violence and Lack of Indigenous Consent

Abstract

The Justice and Corporate Accountability has filed a number of complaints to the Ontario Securities Commission, the British Columbia Securities Commission and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the failure of Canadian mining companies to disclose information on community conflict, violence and Indigenous consent.

An analysis of the cases found four indicia that showed that the information disclosed in the complaints (but not disclosed by the companies) was important material information relating to the health of the company including a drop in share price; divestment by institutional investors; and shareholder class action law suits against the company.

The study is updated from the original report of 2020. It recommends that extractive companies should have more explicit guidance related to disclosure of violence and human rights issues, including specific disclosure requirements relating to free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples (FPIC).

This study is a follow-up to the JCAP report, “The Canada Brand: Violence and Canadian Mining Companies in Latin America” (2016), which found that publicly listed companies reported only 24.2% of the deaths and 12.3% of the injuries listed in that report.

Keywords: social disclosure, Securities Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, mining, business and human rights, FPIC, Free Prior and Informed Consent, Indigenous peoples, Latin America, Tahoe Resources, Pebble Mine, Excellon Resources

JEL Classification: K2, Q3