Evidence of meeting #43 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was c-300.
A recording is available from Parliament.
10:20 a.m.
Lawyer, International Human Rights Law, Alternatives Canada
I will answer that 320 human rights abuses involving corporations were treated by John Ruggie's team from 2005 to 2007. Within these there were, of course, mining, or extractive sector, human rights allegations treated. John Ruggie has detailed all the impacts on which category of human rights, and published in a report...in 2008, if I recall.
So there are allegations of human rights violations out there, definitely. To only name that and not—
10:20 a.m.
NDP
Wayne Marston NDP Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
That gives us a point of reference, though.
The difficult situations that I have heard of seem to come quite often come from indigenous people who are displaced. I've heard over the years of stories of trade unionists who were actually murdered. Again, I want to stress that I don't have any information that a Canadian company was behind it. What was said is that the Canadian company had not gone out of its way to make it very clear that it was troubled by this, and also that casual conversations at times can lead to very tragic results.
In your experience, have you see situations that are similar to that?
10:20 a.m.
Lawyer, International Human Rights Law, Alternatives Canada
John Ruggie's framework, “Protect, Respect and Remedy”, is very clear on the duty of the companies. In a few words, they have the duty to respect human rights, whether the state itself does not, and, as John Ruggie put it, to do no harm.
10:20 a.m.
NDP
Wayne Marston NDP Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
Any company, Canadian or otherwise, on the ground in another country has the best ability to prevent human rights violations within the context of its work, as opposed to a government someplace. To some degree it will always be a self-managing kind of system, but if there's accountability, where they know at the end of the day they have responsibilities that are not only acknowledged by the company but by their government at home, and they're accountable to them, that would be of great value, I would think.
10:20 a.m.
Lawyer, International Human Rights Law, Alternatives Canada
Definitely, I think, where a state's obligations cannot be complied--meaning that it is very clear that companies operating abroad come under host state obligations first--some host states...and the government, as Canada has recognized in the 2009 strategy, do not necessarily have the judicial capacity or the governance
to monitor the activities of mining companies in the field.
This is an impasse for all stakeholders. Do we sit there and not do anything and see these situations become violent and degrade and become a bigger problem for all the stakeholders--Canada, the host states, the victims, and the company--that are suffering from this?
10:25 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kevin Sorenson
Thank you very much, Ms. Duhamel.
Thank you for the questions and the answers; much appreciated.
I would invite the steering committee to stay for some in camera work.
The meeting is adjourned.