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Who will hear the Cambior case? Seven months after lawyer Steve Michelin filed a motion for authorization to Institute a class action lawsuit against Montreal-based mining company Cambior Inc. by 23,000 residents of Guyana, the case itself has barely moved forward at all. But that doesn't mean nothing's happening. >> In July, in response to Michelin's motion, lawyers for Cambior filed their own motion stating that the case should not be heard in Quebec, but in Guyana. So Michelin and his clients decided to send Dr. William Schabas, Chair of the law school at the Université du Québec à Montréal and a specialist in international human rights law, down to evaluate the state of the Guyanese justice system in August. >> Late last week, Schabas' conclusions were filed in court--in the form of a 12-page affidavit. In it, Schabas quotes Guyanese Prime Minister Cheddi Jagan saying that the court system there has "reached a state of collapse. Throughout the system, the receipt of bribes is commonplace." Schabas concludes that, should the Quebec court refuse to hear the case, it "will likely result in the denial of justice to the plaintiffs." >> A Cambior spokesperson says the company will nevertheless continue to pursue their motion to dismiss. --Philip Preville
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