Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, with apologies, I don't have any great detail or background in this area, but we can certainly get that information to members, if it's desired.

Foreign Affairs committee  We're not able to speak with a huge amount of detail on that. I can confirm that we have, of course, listed ISIL as a terrorist group under our Criminal Code, and therefore, there's an additional duty on Canadian financial institutions of due diligence and disclosure to law enfor

Foreign Affairs committee  The counsellor would have the authority to decide how to term that. If he thought there were good reasons, he could say that. But we can't have a counsellor operating without being accountable, through the minister to Parliament, for what he does, and therefore needing to report

Foreign Affairs committee  You're assuming that at some point in the process the company withdraws consent. But if we're successful, informal mediation would lead to a plan of action or a way to mitigate whatever the complaint was, and that would finish it. The consent would not be withdrawn. There would b

Foreign Affairs committee  I can try. One area of difference, of course, which all of you would have noticed, is that we don't use the term “ombudsman”; we've chosen “CSR counsellor” instead. While the powers of the CSR counsellor position largely mirror the powers requested or recommended by the advisor

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. I think it all stems from the 2005 report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. It notes quite correctly that Canada's involvement in the international extractive sector is enormous, and since that sector requires vast i

Foreign Affairs committee  We are certainly concerned about the extractive sector.

Foreign Affairs committee  There are many reasons. You might consent because you really believe you've done due diligence and you want a chance to demonstrate that you've done the best you can with imperfect information. You might consent because it can be very difficult for companies to continue to operat

Foreign Affairs committee  There are four separate stages to the process. The first stage would be that the counsellor would receive a letter or some form of communication and would then go to the company. And I should add here that it could happen in reverse. Companies can decide that they're subjected to

Foreign Affairs committee  You are reading that correctly. There's no provision to grandfather.

Foreign Affairs committee  There's no grandfathering provision in the CSR strategy. However, if it is continuing on the day the counsellor is appointed, then it could be investigated from that period onward.

Foreign Affairs committee  The paragraph you read is almost meant to be read in the reverse. The idea is that if communities believe they could be adversely affected, or if they have concerns in advance of a mining operation really being present on the ground, they can come to the counsellor in advance of

Foreign Affairs committee  Sorry, I misunderstood your question. Representatives of individuals or communities that are affected can make representation on behalf of that community. So Canadian NGOs who are active on these issues could represent a community and bring forward a specific instance or a case

Foreign Affairs committee  It is true that the CSR counsellor could not proceed with an investigation if either party decided they didn't want it to continue. So in the case where the CSR counsellor might receive an allegation from the local community, the counsellor would then approach the Canadian compan