We All Live in a Mediocracy
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1626 ... June 19, 2018
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We All Live in a Mediocracy
Patrick Desjardins
Alain Deneault has become one of the most important Canadian public intellectuals Anglosphere audiences have never heard of. Having completed a doctorate on the economic thought of German social theorist Georg Simmel under the supervision of Jacques Rancière at Université Paris VIII, Deneault returned to Canada and promptly published a number of works notable for demonstrating the Canadian state’s links to the global mining sector on the one hand, and Canada’s involvement in the spread and use of tax havens worldwide on the other. Since that time, Deneault has become one of the country’s foremost experts on these topics, frequently appearing in French language media in both Canada and abroad, having recently offered commentary on the Paradise... Papers’ revelations of systematic globalized tax sheltering by the world’s political and economic elites. Bold writing on such topics has also placed Deneault at the centre of controversy in Canada.
Most controversial among such works was Noir Canada, co-written with Delphine Abadie and William Sacher, published by Montreal based Écosociété in 2008. This book, written in French and sold primarily in Quebec, outlined the operations of Canadian mining entities working in Africa. So controversial were the book’s claims that it ultimately led to Deneault and his coauthors to be at the centre of two multi million-dollar SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) cases, one brought forward by Barrick Gold in Quebec, and the other by Banro Corporation in Ontario. What ensued were some of Canada’s most important freedom of expression cases, leading to the passing in Quebec of an Act to Amend the Code of Civil Procedure to Prevent Improper Use of the Courts and Promote Freedom of Expression and Citizen Participation in Public Debate. The cases and events surrounding the litigation were also the subject of a National Film Board of Canada documentary, "Silence is Gold." Deneault and his co-authors ultimately settled out of court, agreeing to withdraw Noir Canada from publication. Consequently, two books offering a modified presentation of similar material were later published.
