Vasilis Pappas, Artem Barsukov and Sharon Singh write in Canadian Mining Journal on resource nationalism as a clear and present danger to Canadian miners. They look at how a rising wave of populism, coupled with economic challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and a renewed focus on environmental rights, Indigenous rights and other social issues, have paved the way for the re-emergence of resource nationalism in many developing nations.

Canadian mining companies can protect themselves from these developments in several ways:

• taking advantage of investment treaties that guarantee certain minimum standards of treatment and protections to foreign investors;
• updating risk registers and developing robust response plans to deal with hostile government action;
• negotiating robust dispute resolution clauses in investment or concession agreements which would require any disputes be submitted to binding international arbitration in a neutral forum; and
• if hostile government actions do occur, immediately seeking advice from sophisticated international arbitration counsel.