Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries Act

An Act respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas in Developing Countries

This bill was last introduced in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, which ended in March 2011.

This bill was previously introduced in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session.

Sponsor

John McKay  Liberal

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

In committee (House), as of April 22, 2009
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

The purpose of this enactment is to promote environmental best practices and to ensure the protection and promotion of international human rights standards in respect of the mining, oil or gas activities of Canadian corporations in developing countries. It also gives the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of International Trade the responsibility to issue guidelines that articulate corporate accountability standards for mining, oil or gas activities and it requires the Ministers to submit an annual report to both Houses of Parliament on the provisions and operation of this Act.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Votes

Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, An Act respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas in Developing Countries, be concurred in at report stage.
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300 be amended by deleting Clause 10.
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 9, be amended by replacing line 17 on page 6 with the following: “functions under subsection (2)”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 8, be amended by replacing line 36 on page 5 with the following: “enter into or renew a transaction”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 5, be amended by replacing lines 18 to 23 on page 4 with the following: “( a) the IFC's(i) Policy on Social and Environmental Sustainability,(ii) Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability and Guidance Notes to those standards, (iii) applicable Industry Sector Guidelines, and(iv) General Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines;”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 5, be amended by replacing line 17 on page 4 with the following: “(2) The guidelines shall be substantially consistent with:”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 4, be amended by adding after line 12 on page 4 the following: “(11) Every investment manager who invests the assets of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board pursuant to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act shall take into account the results of examinations and reviews undertaken pursuant to this section.”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing lines 39 to 44 on page 3 with the following: “(8) If a corporation is found by a Minister to have contravened a guideline referred to in section 5, the corporation shall have six months, from the date of publication of the Minister’s finding, to bring itself into compliance. During that period, no adverse steps resulting from that breach of compliance shall be taken against the corporation by Export Development Canada pursuant to section 10.2 of the Export Development Act or by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade pursuant to section 10 of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Act.(8.1) The Ministers shall publish in the Canada Gazette their findings regarding compliance with the guidelines within a period of 30 days after the conclusion of the grace period provided for in subsection (8).(8.2) If, at the end of that grace period, the corporation remains in contravention of a guideline, as determined by the Ministers, the Ministers shall, within a period of 30 days, notify the President of Export Development Canada and the Chairperson of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board that the corporation’s mining, oil or gas activities are inconsistent with the guidelines referred to in section 5. (8.3) If a corporation found to be in contravention of a guideline at the end of the grace period provided for in subsection (8) subsequently undertakes corrective actions, the corporation may request the Ministers to review the results of those actions and make a determination regarding compliance with the guidelines. The request shall be made in writing and shall include such information as is required to determine compliance with the guidelines. (8.4) Subsections (3), (4), (6) and (7) apply to a request for review provided under subsection (8.3) as if it were a complaint. (8.5) If the Ministers determine through a review that the corporation remains in contravention of a guideline, the Ministers shall notify the President of Export Development Canada and the Chairperson of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board that the corporation’s mining, oil or gas activities are inconsistent with the guidelines referred to in section 5.”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing line 32 on page 3 with the following: “undertaken pursuant to this section, which shall include a determination regarding the corporation’s compliance with the guidelines set out in section 5 and the Ministers' basis for any finding, within eight”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing lines 22 and 23 on page 3 with the following: “ister who receives the complaint shall consider any relevant information provided by the corporation or the”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing, in the English version, lines 3 and 4 on page 3 with the following: “receive complaints regarding Canadian corporations engaged in mining, oil or gas activities”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 3, be amended by replacing, in the French version, line 34 on page 2 with the following: “3. La présente loi vise à faire en sorte que les”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing lines 12 to 16 on page 1 with the following: ““developing countries” means countries classified as low income, lower middle income or upper middle income in the World Bank list of economies, as amended from time to time.”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing, in the French version, lines 10 to 13 on page 1 with the following: “Opérations de recherche, notamment par forage, de production, de rationalisation de l'exploitation, de transformation et de transport de ressources minérales, de pétrole ou de gaz, réalisées dans le territoire d'un”
Oct. 27, 2010 Failed That Bill C-300, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing lines 9 to 11 on page 1 with the following: ““corporation” means any company or legal person incorporated by or under an Act of Parliament or of any province, and includes holding or subsidiary companies of the corporation.”
April 22, 2009 Passed That the Bill be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on May 25, 2009

  • Bruce Hirst, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on June 1, 2009

  • Louise Léger, Director General, Trade Commissioner Service - Client Services (BSD), Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
  • Donica Pottie, Director, Democracy and War Economies Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
  • Sara Wilshaw, Director, Trade Commissioner Service Support, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
  • Sabine Nölke, Director, United Nations, Human Rights and Economic Law Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
  • Rob Walsh, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, House of Commons

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on Oct. 8, 2009

  • Catherine Coumans, Research Coordinator and Asia Pacific Program, MiningWatch Canada
  • Richard Janda, Professor, McGill University, Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability
  • Gordon Peeling, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mining Association of Canada

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on Oct. 20, 2009

  • Stephen Lucas, Assistant Deputy Minister, Minerals and Metals Sector, Department of Natural Resources
  • Rémy M. Beauregard, President, Rights & Democracy
  • William McGuinty, President, OTD Exploration Services Inc.
  • Tyler Giannini, Lecturer on Law, International Human Rights Clinic, Harvard Law School
  • Sarah Knuckey, Lawyer, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, New York University School of Law
  • Carole Samdup, Senior Advisor, Economic and Social Rights, Rights & Democracy

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on Oct. 22, 2009

  • Karyn Keenan, Program Officer, Halifax Initiative Coalition
  • Christopher MacLennan, Director General, Thematic and Sectoral Policy Directorate, Canadian International Development Agency
  • Hélène Giroux, Director General, South America, Americas, Geographic Programs Branch, Canadian International Development Agency
  • Bill Singleton, Senior Economic Policy Advisor, Strategic Policy and Performance Branch, Canadian International Development Agency

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on Oct. 27, 2009

  • Michael Casey, Executive Director, Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace
  • Alex Neve, Secretary General, Amnesty International
  • Ryan Worms, Education and Research Officer, Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace
  • Jim McArdle, Senior Vice-President, Legal Services and Secretary, Export Development Canada

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on Nov. 17, 2009

  • Donald Raymond, Senior Vice-President, Public Market Investments, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
  • Anthony Andrews, Executive Director, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada
  • Robert Wisner, Partner, McMillan LLP
  • Ian Dale, Senior Vice-President, Communications and Stakeholder Relations, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
  • Viviane Weitzner, Senior Researcher, Trade and Natural Resources, North-South Institute

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on Nov. 19, 2009

  • Perrin Beatty, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
  • Susanna Cluff-Clyburne, Director, Parliamentary Relations, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
  • Stephen Hunt, Director, District 3, United Steelworkers
  • Ian Thomson, Program Coordinator, Ecological Justice and Corporate Accountability, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
  • Connie Sorio, Program Coordinator, Asia Pacific Partnerships, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on Nov. 24, 2009

  • Romina Picolotti, President and Founder, Center for Human Rights and Environment
  • Denis Tougas, Coordinator, Table de concertation sur la région des Grands Lacs africains, Entraide Missionnaire Inc.
  • Marketa Evans, Counsellor, Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on Nov. 26, 2009

  • Mac Penney, Director, Government Relations, Kinross Gold Corporation
  • Peter Sinclair, Senior Director, Corporate Social Responsability, Barrick Gold Corporation
  • Dina Aloi, Vice-President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Goldcorp Inc.
  • James Peterson, Counsel, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
  • Raymond Chrétien, Partner and Strategic Advisor, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
  • Michael J. Bourassa, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on Dec. 1, 2009

  • Grant Manuge, Director General, Trade Commissioner Service, Operations, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
  • Sabine Nölke, Director, United Nations, Human Rights and Economic Law Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
  • James Lambert, Director General, Latin America and Caribbean, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
  • Catherine Duhamel, Lawyer, International Human Rights Law, Alternatives Canada

Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, on Dec. 3, 2009