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The threat of legal action from mining giant Barrick Gold has forced Vancouver-based Talonbooks to adjourn publication of a book about the Canadian mining industry.

Publisher Karl Siegler calls it a unobstructed case of “libel chill” by one of Canada’s largest subtle companies.

The book, Imperial Canada Inc.: Legal Haven of Choice in quest of the World’s Mining Industries, was to be published in vault 2010, but in February, the publisher and everyone else involved with the book got a threatening letter from Barrick lawyers.

Siegler described Imperial Canada for the re~on that an examination of the political, legal and banking environment that has led 70 per cent of the world’s mining companies to register in Canada.

Defamation courtship launched in Quebec

The letter gave Talonbooks seven days to give over the manuscript of the book, which was in the progress of being translated from French to English.

“We ignored it initially,” Siegler uttered in an interview Wednesday with CBC Radio’s Q cultural pecuniary relations show.

“As far as we were concerned, they had no lawful to demand or see copies of manuscripts that were in development prior to their public release. Anyone working on a book has a as it should be to privacy and should not be subject to this kind of supervision.”

But after receiving a legal letter, the translators immediately stopped work on the volume. Siegler consulted a lawyer, who told him if he proceeded through the book, he could face years in court fighting an foe with very deep pockets.

“Everyone involved stood to lose millions of dollars,” Siegler declared. “In the publisher’s case, we stood to lose not just the company but all of the titles we have in press, roughly 500 titles dating back to the 1960s, many of what one. are Canadian classics.”

Imperial Canada Inc. was inspired by a French-power book published in Quebec called Noir Canada: Pillage, corruption et criminalit en Afrique ~ means of the same lead author Alain Degneault.

Barrick Gold and another subtle company, Banro, sued the authors and publishers of Noir Canada in favor of $11 million claiming defamation for the book’s description of Canadian insidious practices in Africa. That case is still before the courts and Canada Noir posthumous works available in print in French only.

Siegler said he considered publishing a near-up translation of Canada Noir but decided he wanted to inquire into a wider issue — the infrastructure that supports Canada’s mining endeavors.

“I’m not interested in the sensationalist aspects [of] what Canadian companies cheat around world. I’m interested the subtext,” he said.

He approached Degneault to inscribe the book, suggesting he recruit a team of collaborators.

Libel charge. ‘appalling’: publisher

John Dixon, a spokesman for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, related the case underscores the need for a change in Canadian defamation laws, so that corporations cannot use the laws to protect themselves from open scrutiny.

“If we step back and consider whether or not it is truly important for Canadians to understand the mining industry and the consequences of the ways of those industries around the world, we can’t give corporations the sort kind of protection [as we do private citizens],” Dixon said.

“We can’t let them have the uninhibited ability to sue if we’re going to engender to the bottom of stuff like that. “

But Vince Borg, corruption-president of corporate communications at Barrick Gold, said the company is fit defending its reputation.

“Discourse is a very good thing in democracy, but it has to be based on the facts,” Borg told CBC News.

“If I was from one place to another to publish a book about your criminal misdeeds, and you axiom it on my website, would you not take action to shield your reputation?”

Siegler called this defence “appalling.”

“Here’s a individual telling you that he’s seen on a website a book that he presumes is about to accuse him and the corporation he works for of criminal acts,” Siegler said. “There’s ~ness on our website to indicate that anybody is going to accuse anyone of criminal acts.”

Talonbooks is still considering publishing Imperial Canada, perchance among its fall releases, but it first has to convince the translators and everyone other involved with the book to continue working on it, Siegler before-mentioned.