Foreign Affairs committee  I think that's just a matter of doing responsible business in a country. Most policies--if you look at e3, even--will acknowledge that in order to do business in a country you have to respect their laws and other international standards that apply, and their international commitm

Foreign Affairs committee  Absolutely. In the case of Colombia, this is something the Colombian government has supported. These are fundamental rights, inherent rights of indigenous and tribal peoples, and in doing business in their homelands or by their homelands, you should. In fact, that's demanded here

Foreign Affairs committee  No, I think there's talk of a potential ombudsperson. I don't believe this bill would preclude that possibility. It would also be possible to strengthen the current CSR counsellor to fulfill some of these functions. I don't think we're starting from point blank on this.

Foreign Affairs committee  I think the eight-month period is a window within which you could work. Whether or not that needs to be extended is something we'd need to look at. There is a review process for this bill—it isn't all set in stone. If we needed changes to the timeframe, they could be made. I don'

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes.

Foreign Affairs committee  What's my view of how corporate social responsibility affects their investment decisions?

Foreign Affairs committee  I think there are certain concrete responsibilities that we have as investors. I'm sorry, but I didn't see how that--

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, I understand that difficulty, and I do understand that amendments could be made to strengthen the bill from that perspective.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you for reminding me. If even the world's largest and most well-endowed companies are not implementing their own voluntary commitments, there's little likelihood that Canadian juniors or companies will do so. In the case of countries experiencing armed conflict, like Colo

Foreign Affairs committee  There needs to be a streamlined process for figuring out whether the complaint merits further review. That needs to be developed. I think it's a process of figuring out together. This is a question of whether an advisory committee is in place to help guide that process. I believe

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much. It is a privilege to share with you today the North-South Institute's views with respect to Bill C-300, proposed legislation that takes critical steps towards Canadian government accountability in the extractive sector overseas. By way of background, the Nor